Still into you
by fictionoverreality8
Summary: Through their attempts to assassinate Koro-sensei, it cannot be ignored that something about the students' relationships changed. For example Nagisa, who has always been concentrated on his misssion, got distracted by one of his classmates who has already confused him in the past.../follows the anime storyline
1. I feel like my life ain't mine

Episode 1: I feel like my life ain't mine

 _I've been on the low_

 _I been taking my time_

 _I feel like I'm out of my mind_

 _It feel like my life ain't mine_

Nagisa sat there quietly, trying not to move. His hand slided down, beside his chair where he stored his gun. The moment Koro-sensei turned around to continue writing on the blackboard, he stood up. The rest of the class joined him. All of them held up their guns. Koro-sensei looked surprised, but confident as well. For one second the room was filled with silence. Then Nagisa gave the order to shoot. But their attack failed, just like the others before. It looked like it didn't help that there were more of them this time. The class was disappointed.

After the lesson, their teacher left in order to get some food. Nagisa left the class room as well. He had to meet with some of his classmates, Terasaka, Muramatsu and Yoshida. They have told him to find out more about Koro-sensei, and now they wanted to hear his findings. But it turned out that they just came up with a new plan for an assassination. A plan that was actually very dangerous for Nagisa himself. They wanted him to try a suicide attack. Well, he wasn't sure if it would really kill him, but it was possible. "Just think about the money", the others told him. "Your family needs it. But they don't need you." Maybe they were right, Nagisa thought. Especially his mother didn't miss a chance to show him her embarrassment. And he didn't really have another choice. Nagisa didn't have much self-esteem, and sometimes he thought about his life as it was worth nothing.

 _All this other shit I'm talkin' 'bout they think they know it_

 _I've been praying for somebody to save me, no one's heroic_

 _And my life don't even matter, I know it, I know it_

 _I know I'm hurting deep down but can't show it_

 _I never had a place to call my own_

 _I never had a home, ain't nobody callin' my phone_

 _Where you been? Where you at? What's on your mind?_

 _They say every life precious but nobody care about mine_

So during the next lesson, he just stood up and went forward to the blackboard. First he attacked with a knife so he could confuse his teacher, then he just jumped towards him. His class was shocked, and it was so silent that he could even here the quiet sound of Terasaka pressing the button.

But the plan didn't work. Koro-sensei saved Nagisa, and threatened the three who planned the assassination. Nagisa wasn't sure if he should feel glad that he was still alive or disappointed that the attack failed. He came to the conclusion that he was both. Something about his life deranged him. He wasn't sure yet what it was. He felt lonely. His family didn't support him, but he was used to that. His only friend, Kayano, couldn't spent much time with him. They only had time to talk on their way to school and back home. And right now he didn't feel like talking to Kayano. He knew that she would ask him about why he did try the suicide attack. And he didn't even know the answer. So they just climbed down the hills quietly. Nagisa was grateful for the silence. But he knew that Kayano would break it, sooner or later. And she did. "Nagisa-kun, I know you don't wanna talk about it. But I want to, and I'll just be so selfish and ask you what the hell you did today", Kayano asked. Nagisa looked at her, trying to keep up. Kayano usually walked very slowly, but not when she was angry. "Do you believe me when I tell you that I don't know it either?", Nagisa inquired. His friend looked at him with a worried facial expression. "Not really", she said, slowing down a little. After a few moments of silence she added "You need to stand up for yourself, Nagisa-kun. It seems like you only do what the others tell you to do. And I don't think that's good. It's your life. Do what you want. And don't waste it." Nagisa lowered his head. He knew Kayano was right. He didn't know what to respond. Their ways separated a few minutes later.

After supper and doing his homework, Nagisa fell onto his bed, staring up to the ceiling. Something was wrong. He could feel it. Something was missing. He didn't know what it was, but he was sure that once it has been there. Now there was only a void. An empty space that once was filled with something that brought him calmness, a peace of mind. He couldn't remember since when he felt that way, but he was sure that he avoided facing it for some time. But no longer. He will find what was missing. He will feel better. Or at least something, anything. His eyes started to close. Nagisa felt his consciousness drifting away. Something was missing. Or was it someone?


	2. I won't fall forever

Episode 2: I won't fall forever

 _Hate me when I'm gone, I'll make it worth your while when I'm successful_

 _But when I'm here I need your kindness cause the climb is always stressful_

 _Clumsily gassed myself by thinking I'll be better off alone_

 _I'll leave my peace in pieces all around the decent people back at home_

The next day in school was just like the ones before. Nagisa has been worried about how his class mates react or if they would talk to him about his suicide attack. But no one did. So he just agreed with himself to accept it and move on. He even planned another attack with Sugino, one of his oldest friends. As the ones before, the assassination failed. But that wasn't a real problem. It seemed to be more dramatic when Koro-sensei accidentally ruined the flowerbed in front of the building. Seeing his teacher trying to plant new flowers while five girls shouted at him was actually quite fun. It made Nagisa forget his dark thoughts, his worries and insecurities for one moment. He felt better. It distracted him from rethinking his plans and actions. It helped the whole class, everyone was laughing and feeling pleased. Nagisa looked around, finding his friends in the crowd. He smiled to himself. It will get better.

 _Cause I'm a big boy an adult now, well nearly_

 _If I pull the wool back from my eyes I can see clearly_

 _The world is at my feet and I am standing on the ceiling_

 _And I fall, fall, fall, when it all comes down_

 _And I won't be crushed by the weight of this town_

 _I fall from the sky but I won't fall forever_

 _I fall but when I'll rise I'll be stronger than ever_

Of course Nagisa couldn't get away with it that easily. Sugino walked up to him during lunch break, sitting down beside him and biting into an apple. "Wow, Sugino-kun, I can't remember the last time I saw you eating fruits", Nagisa spoke with a big grin on his face. His friend gave him a little push. "Now you're overwinding. Maybe it just seems like such a long time because we don't hang out that often lately, which isn't my fault by the way" Sugino responded. Nagisa turned a little to face him. "I know, Sugino-kun. And you know that I'd really like to meet you more often. It's just… since I'm in E-Class, my mother thinks I don't have anything to do except studying.", he added. "I get that, Nagisa-kun. I'm just a little worried about you", the dark-haired boy mentioned incidentally. "Everything will be alright, you'll see.", Nagisa said, staring in the distance.

Actually, he was right about a future change. It started with two government employees on their way to another student of the Kunugigaoka Junior High School. Karma Akabane was watching TV when he heard the doorbell. He stood up in order to open the door. After his visitors informed him about the removal of his suspension and explained him the situation about killing his teacher, Karma was confused, but not repining. Violence against others has never been problematic to him, and assassinating a teacher would be a whole new level. He even felt kind of exited about it. He also was keen on finding out who his new classmates would be, probably some already known faces. He definitely was motivated to prove his skills.

He had no idea of what was awaiting him.


	3. Sit next to me

Episode 3: Sit next to me

 _Last time I saw you said "What's up?"_

 _And pushed right through_

 _Then I tried to catch you_

 _But we're always on the move_

Karma was too late, again. He did know the time when school starts, but he was so used to being late. The time he reached the school ground, the class was outside, attending sports lesson. It looked like the government influenced it too, because he saw students trying to fight with knives. He let his view slide over the crowed. His mood changed once he noticed a small boy with blue hair, standing in the last row. Nagisa, he thought immediately. What the hell was he doing here? Since when was he in E-class? Karma grinded his teeth. He won't let himself be influenced by that. Even though he will be surrounded by Nagisa nearly every day. He will act like anything was alright. This won't be hard because in fact, nothing did happen. Karma stared at Nagisa. His hair looked different now. It was still long, but he wore it tied up now. It suited him though. But wearing his hair down did suit him as well. Karma turned away from the group. Now was not the time for memories. He walked over to the building, waiting for his new classmates to arrive.

Nagisa went back to the building, complaining about their class schedule with Sugino. They were just about to enter when Nagisa noticed someone blocking their way. He looked up, surprised to see a red-haired boy smiling down at him. "Hey, Nagisa-kun. Long time no see", Karma spoke with a little grin on his face. Nagisa didn't know how to react. "Karma-kun, you're back", he stated, causing Karma's smile to extend. They stared at each other for a second, but than Karma spotted Koro-sensei. "So that's the famous Koro-sensei", he said while making his way through his classmates, "he really looks like an octopus." Karma stopped in front of his new teacher, scanning him. After introducing himself, he reached out to shake Koro-sensei's hand. As the teacher took it, his tentacle exploded. Everyone was shocked, except Karma of course. He was really confident about his attack, and proud that it worked. He noticed his classmates' eyes on him. Kayano stepped beside Nagisa, asking him "Nagisa-kun, what is Karma like?" "Well", he answered, not taking his eyes off Karma, "We've been classmates for two years, but he got suspended because of his violent behavior. I think in this class he'll be an archetype." Karma walked back to the building, tossing his knife. As he passed Nagisa, he raised his stare, winking at him.

Karma even managed to hurt Koro-sensei again during the next lesson. Some students were a little annoyed that the new kid's attacks worked better than their own ones, but mostly everyone was happy about the fact that it was indeed possible to hurt their target subject.

 _It's a midnight intervention_

 _Got no plans to make it stop_

 _Last time I saw you said you wanna keep it light_

 _But I'm here to tell you_

 _I'm not trying to change your mind_

 _It's alright, it's alright_

After school ended, Nagisa met Karma again at the train station. Nagisa said goodbye to Sugino, and found himself aimed to the same direction as Karma, which was nothing new to both of them. Their homes weren't that far away from each other, Karma just gets off the train one station earlier. Nagisa wanted to go to the platform, but got distracted by the voices of two of his former classmates, chatting about E-class. He heard the words "I'd rather die than go there", followed by a high scream that made him turn around quickly just to see Karma, threatening thr boy with a broken bottle. "You want to rather die? Do you want to die…right now?" Karma asked with an innocent look. As the boys ran away, Karma started laughing a little, turning towards Nagisa. He asked him some questions about their teacher. Nagisa's answers amused him, as they kept talking about assassinations. Karma sensed that Nagisa was quite impressed by his attacks, which made him proud of himself. While talking about teachers he noticed that Nagisa also seemed a little scared of him. Karma didn't know what to think about that. He did like the fact that people feared him, but he didn't want Nagisa to think about him like that. Getting of the train he already had a new plan for the next day.

It was one of these nights again in which Nagisa couldn't sleep, he stared into the darkness trying not to think too much. So Karma was back again. Once he was his best friend, but it didn't last. Why didn't it last? They spent so much time together. He never told Karma, but he felt like he was his safe place. He brought something new and exiting in his life. He had been sad when it changed. In fact, it was Karma's fault. He started to subduct himself. He drifted away, quietly and slowly, but in the end he was gone. Nagisa was just about to grab his phone and call him, or text him. He came to the decision that he won't let that happen again. Even though he had Kayano and Sugino, he felt like still he needed something else. Something like Karma.

The next day Karma tried something new in order to get on his teacher's nerves. Nagisa smiled to himself. Today was different- Koro-sensei took care of Karma and showed him what it means to be a part of the E-class. Karma didn't seem quite happy about it, but endured it with a grin. After school he went outside to sit down at a deep hollow. Nagisa found him there. "Come on, Karma-kun. We'll work out another plan, lets try it all together" he told him. Karma continued staring down the hills. Koro-sensei joined them. Karma stood up asking his teacher if he was determined to protect his students with his life. After Koro-sensei confirmed Karma's thoughts, the redhead just smiled. Good to know, he told himself. "So I am able to kill you". Karma pulled out his gun and aimed it at his teacher's head. With a grin on his face. He stepped backwards to the edge of the cliff. Until he fell.

Nagisa froze for a second, then he started running to the edge. He won't lose Karma again. But his worries were needless. Koro-sensei's tentacles formed a net to catch Karma. Nagisa felt released when they both got up the cliff again. Karma acted like it wasn't a big deal at all. He smiled, informing his teacher "I will kill you, maybe already tomorrow". He faced Nagisa "Let's go home, Nagisa-kun. And let's go eat something before that.", throwing Koro-sensei's purse up in the air. Nagisa grinned and followed Karma down the hills. The redhead kept his promise and took Nagisa to a little restaurant near the train station. They both ordered and sat there for a moment in silence. Nagisa felt like saying something, but in the moment he took enough courage to start talking Karma took out his phone. Nagisa felt a little disappointed, and did the same. The moment he unlocked his phone screen he got a text message. He opened it curiously, only to find out that it was from Karma. Nagisa was a little confused , still he read it: _I'm sorry that I don't know how to start a conversation ;P_. He put away his phone, smiling a little. "It's alright. Karma-kun. Cause I don't know either", he said. Karma started smiling as well. "Tell me, Nagisa-kun. How has life been lately? And since when are you wearing your hair like that?"


	4. committable mistakes

Episode 4: committable mistakes

 _Every now and then he'd think about his life_

 _Daydreamin' just to pass the time_

 _Now the sun is closer than it was before_

 _Anyone who's anyone can feel it_

 _Saturdays are not the same as they used to be_

 _Sadder days, why do they keep on using me?_

It was unbelievable, nearly awkward. Everyone in the E-class knew it right from the start: their new teacher wasn't only a teacher. She overdid it totally. Koro-sensei was the only one who was completely blinded by her. For Nagisa, it was clear. The government sent another assassin. After introducing her, the whole class felt disappointed. Everyone was worried if the new teacher could steal their job and kill Koro-sensei.

The lesson was over, and all the students went outside during their break. Nagisa was on his way to the glade where he usually meets with Kayano and Sugino, but got stopped by Karma. He seemed a little embarrassed while he asked the blue-haired boy if he could join him for lunch break. So they went together through the woods until they reached Nagisa's friends. They didn't say anything about Karma, still they looked at Nagisa trying to ask him silently why he brought Karma with him. Nagisa ignored them and asked "So, what do you think about our new teacher?" "I don't think she's just a teacher", Sugino answered. Kayano nodded in agreement, and karma did the same. "She's overdoing it totally", Kayano added. "Yeah, I mean she's only concentrated on Koro-sensei and ignores us, her students, like we aren't even here, right?", Karma asked. While Kayano stayed silent, Sugino agreed with a loud laugh. Their break was over too soon, and the four went back to the building. Nagisa observed the group. He felt like the others didn't really like Karma, or just didn't include him in their conversations. But probably that was only because they didn't know Karma that well yet.

During their sports lesson, their new teacher managed to get rid of Koro-sensei in order to talk to them. She admitted that she was a professional assassin who just cared about killing Koro-sensei and not about actually teaching her students. Bragging about her experience she thought that everyone else was useless and that the job could be done very easily. While trying to look like she was better than anyone, she even kissed Nagisa trying to impress the class with her different techniques. Nagisa felt very embarrassed. The laughing of his classmate didn't help. In his despair his eyes were looking for Karma, finding him in the middle of the group. With a weird expression in his eyes, the redhead smiled at Nagisa, trying not to laugh too hard.

In their next break, Karma walked over to Nagisa, Kayano, Sugino and Yuzuki. He wanted to ask Nagisa if he liked to go eat after school again, but got interrupted by their new teacher. She actually excused for her behavior, but still got another "nice" nickname: bitch-sensei. Whoever came up with this name was called a real genius, because they kept calling her bitch-sensei from than on. Her lesson still got very interesting, even though what she was teaching surely wasn't planned by another teacher.

 _Even as a child everyone would say_

 _He was gonna be a star someday_

 _Finally he found a way to reach the sky_

 _But he didn't know what he'd find_

Karma nearly missed Nagisa after school ended, but caught him at last. "Hey Nagisa-kun, why the hurry?", he asked him. "My mum wasn't that happy that I was late yesterday without telling her a few days before", Nagisa admitted. Karma bit his lip. It was his fault Nagisa was late yesterday. He didn't mean to get him in trouble. Nagisa noticed the worry on Karma's face. "It's…it's not your fault, Karma-kun", he told him quietly. Karma dint know what to answer. They both know the truth. So he decided to change the subject. "Tell me, Nagisa-kun, how was it with bitch-sensei?", he asked with a daring smile. Nagisa's face turned red within a second. "weird", he answered, trying not to seem too shy. Karma leaned over toward Nagisa a little. "What a coincidence I'm into weird stuff", he mentioned. Nagisa tried not to burst into laughing. "Yeah, tell her that, Karma-kun", he said grinning. "Yeah, still I think I leave that to Okajima", Karma added with a smile. After a few moments of silence Karma suggested heading to the train station. "I don't want you to be late again, Nagisa-kun", he stated with a soft voice. Nagisa nodded, and they both went down the hills.

While they were on the train, Karma tried to avoid his guilty conscience. He knew Nagisa's mother, and how horrible she was able to be. He was amazed that Nagisa managed to remain so kind and friendly, regarding what influenced him. They were just about to arrive at Nagisa's station when the blue-haired boy caught Karma's attention. "Hey Karma-kun? Just text me if you want me to send you the stuff we've been doing lately in school" he told him. "That would be great, Nagisa-kun. Thank you", Karma responded. "No problem", Nagisa smiled back at the redhead. "And Karma? It's really great that you're back again."


	5. time flies by

Episode 5: time flies by

 _Earthquakes shake the dust behind you_

 _This world at times will blind you_

 _Still I know I'll see you there_

 _Come a little closer, then you'll see_

 _Things aren't always what they seem to be_

 _Do you understand the things that you've been seeing_

 _Do you understand the things that you've been dreaming_

The first lesson on the time table was chemics. After another assassination attempt failed, the class got divided into groups. Karma sat on a table with Hayami, Okuda and Chiba. Okuda was the only one of them who was actually interested in science, so the rest of the group spent their time talking. Karma looked around, trying to find Nagisa. He was sitting in the front row with Kayano, Maehara and Kataoka. None of them seemed interested either. Maehara must have told a joke because the whole group started laughing quietly, trying not to catch the teacher's attention. Nagisa turned around, facing Karma. Karma considered looking away for a second, but then he noticed Nagisa smiling at him. He grinned back, and then tried to focus on their experiment again. Suddenly Okuda got up, went to Koro-sensei and told him to drink the poison she just made. Karma liked the idea of poisoning a teacher, even though he would ty his luck with bitch-sensei. Sadly, Okuda's poison only worked on humans, but Koro-sensei proposed helping her to find a poison to kill him. It sounded a little weird, but he actually helped her. Even though he just used Okuda to produce something that made him stronger. Karma focused on Nagisa again. He was talking to Kayano. They have always seemed pretty close. He sighed. What Nagisa told him the day before wouldn't leave his mind. "It's really great that you're back again". He was glad to be back with Nagisa as well. He hoped that it would be easier this time. He continued staring at Nagisa and Kayano. He hadn't noticed before that they were wearing their hair the same way. His thoughts got interrupted by Koro-sensei informing them about the rehearsal in the main building. Karma squinched up his face. He decided not to go there. It wasn't like anyone cared.

 _Heartbreaks, the heavy world's upon your shoulders_

 _Will we burn or we just smolder_

 _Somehow I know I'll find you there_

 _I wanna see if you can change it, change it_

 _Still I know I'll see you there_

Nagisa hated climbing down the hills. It was really exhausting. He was glad when Sugaya suggested taking a break. Nagisa let himself fall on the ground beside Kayano, Sugino, Kanzaki and Okuda. "Hey Nagisa-kun, do you know where Karma-kun is?", Sugino asked. "Well, he…. decided not to come", Nagisa responded. "Why are we even going? It's stupid, we're just there to be laughed at", Kayano added. "You're right, Kayano-san. But we have to", Kanzaki stated. The group got up again and continued their way. The rehearsal was really pointless. Nobody cared about the E-class, some boys just stared at Bitch-sensei and Karasuma-sensei. Everyone was happy when it was over, and they were allowed to leave again. Waiting for the rest of the class, Nagisa took out his phone, looking for something to distract him form his boredom. He smiled as he discovered new text messages, all from Karma: _Hey Nagisa-kun, how is it racing down the hills?_ He scrolled on: _How's the rehearsal? Seeing many stupid faces again?_ Nagisa grinned a little as he read on: _Nagisaaaa, don't you dare to ignore me, I'm bored, entertain me_. He read the last one: _Alright, now tell meeee how was it?_ Nagisa thought about an answer, then he typed: _when you're so interested, maybe you join next time?_ He just pressed the button the send it when two former classmates talked to him again. "Be quiet the next time, you understand me? You're lives are already over anyways. Talk to us, loser. I'll kill you, midget!" Someone grabbed Nagisa's jacket. He was worried first. The last time he had an argument with these two Karma saved him. But he didn't need to be saved. Not anymore. He stared at the ground and started laughing. He lifted his stare and looked the guy holding him straight in his eyes. "Though you have never tried it, have you?", he asked him with a creepy grin. The boy cringed and let go of Nagisa who just continued his way, smiling to himself. He was proud of himself. Nagisa finally stood up for himself. He wished Karma saw him though.


	6. if only I could change

Episode 6: if only I could change

 _I can see behind your eyes_

 _As I pause to watch the sky_

 _Should I take this leap,_

 _Or will it bury me?_

Only a few days, and then the E-class had their next exams. Koro-sensei began producing body doubles of himself so he was able to instruct every student individually. Nagisa personally didn't really care about the exams, but his mother did. So he had to study nearly his entire leisure time. It was horrible. He hated studying, especially maths. It was Sunday evening when was sitting in front of a dozen books, trying to concentrate. But he really couldn't concentrate no more. His hand slided to his phone. He had to turn it off, but still he looked at it. He saw an unanswered text message. As he unlocked the screen, he was able to read it: _Hey Nagisa-kun, what's up? Still studying maths?_ Nagisa smiled. Karma. He still knew which subjects he liked and which he hated but had to study anyway. He texted back: _Yeah, still studying maths. I hate it, it's making no sense._ He got a response a few seconds later: _What about I help you with it tomorrow afternoon?_ Nagisa hesitated for a moment. But why not? Karma helping him to study would be an immense help. His mother would be okay with it, hopefully. She has met Karma before and knew about his skills. _That would be great, thanks_ , he texted back. Even though their friendship took a break, it seemed like everything was back to normal. They didn't have to restart their friendship, it just continued. Nagisa was grateful for that.

The lessons seemed never-ending. Koro-sensei's doubles were quite helpful, but annoying as well. Karma tried to assassinate them a few times. It didn't work, but still it looked funny. Only a few students, like Kayano for example, actually enjoyed studying like that. During the break, Nagisa noticed someone talking to Koro-sensei and Karasuma-sensei. It turned out to be their headmaster. Nagisa could hear them speaking about the E-class and how useful this school system was. He mostly ignored it. He was looking forward to studying with Karma.

 _I can't speak,_

 _I'm so emerged_

 _Maybe I don't deserve_

 _I'm the only one to blame_

After school, Karma met Nagisa in front of the building. "So, Nagisa-kun, what the hell did you tell your mother that she actually allowed you staying out?", Karma asked grinning. "The truth, at least kind of…. I told her that our teacher gave us the option to stay longer in school so we could all study together. Technically I didn't even lie", Nagisa answered, as they started walking down the hill. "We're going to my place, alright? My parents aren't home, as always, so they won't disturb us", Karma suggested. Nagisa simply nodded. He hasn't been at Karma's for nearly a year now. "I didn't clean my room, by the way, but as I know you that's no problem, right?", Karma questioned. Nagisa smiled. "It's no problem Karma, as always."

Karma's room still looked the same. Small and a little bit messy, without much decoration. Nagisa automatically started feeling a little nostalgic, remembering all the hours he has spend here before. Karma got a second chair from the kitchen, and they sat down at the desk. The next time Nagisa looked at the clock, it was already nine in the evening. He was surprised how time went by that quickly. He stood up, throwing his stuff into his bag. "Thanks for your help, Karma-kun, but I really need to leave now before my mother kills me", he spoke. Karma got up as well. "No problem, Nagisa-kun. I'll walk you home", he told him. "And don't say I don't need to, because your mother will kill me too if she finds out that I let you walk home in the dark alone", he added. Nagisa blushed a little. "Thank you, Karma-kun", he said with a shy smile. Being around Karma again made him feel better, in fact he hasn't felt the little dark hole in his heart for hours. As they were just about to leave, Karma went back to his room and came back holding something gray and fluffy. He handed it Nagisa, who took it surprised. It was a large sweater made of cotton. "If you were outside around this time sometimes you'd know that it gets quite cold at night. ", Karma stated smiling. Nagisa quietly put on the sweater. It was really comfortable, just a little too large for him but that didn't matter. He thanked Karma, and they both left the apartment.

Walking through the barely lighted streets with Nagisa made Karma remember the time they spent time together some time ago. But something did change, and that was when Karma decided that it would be better not to see his blue-haired friend again. Nagisa still hadn't asked him for the reason, and Karma hoped that he won't. Now it was better. It was easier to be around Nagisa again. He noticed how much he has missed it. "Karma-kun?" Karma's thoughts got distracted by Nagisa's soft voice, "Do you think we can achieve what Koro-sensei wants us to?" "Probably", he answered. "I mean, I will for sure, I just don't know how the rest of the class will do…", he added with a grin. Nagisa pushed him a little. "At least you're self-confident", he mentioned. "Nagisa-kun, you know I'm so much more than only my arrogance", Karma replied mischievously. "Sure, Karma-kun" he got as a response.

Nagisa's mother was quite furious about Nagisa's late return. But once he told her about Karma helping him with his maths problems and walking him home, she calmed down a bit. Nagisa felt quite confident about the upcoming exams. He went to his room and took off Karma's sweater. He was a little surprised that his mother didn't ask him about it too, but probably she just forgot it. As he folded the sweatshirt, he noticed Karma's scent. It was so familiar, yet confusing. He paused his actions for a second. What has happened a year ago, provoking them to veer away from each other? Nagisa shook his head to bring his thoughts back to reality. He continued folding Karma's sweater and put it onto his desk. He went to bed, taking his phone to check his messages. He did get four texts he hasn't noticed because he silenced his phone for studying. The first one was a message from Sugino: _Hey Nagisa-kun, where are you? I've been waiting for you after school, but you didn't show up so I went to the station alone._ Nagisa remembered forgetting to tell Sugino not to wait for him. He decided more or less to ignore the message and talk to his friend the next day in person. The next two messages were from Kayano: _Hey could you please send me your nots about the stuff we did today in history?_ and _Never mind, Nagisa-kun, Kanzaki-san sent it to me._ Nagisa yawned before reading the last text message. It was from Karma: _Don't worry about tomorrow too much, Nagisa-kun. Everything will turn out alright. Sleep well :P_. Nagisa smiled a little while texting back: _Good night, Karma-kun._

But the exams didn't work out the way everyone thought. To underline his system, the principal changed the content spontaneously. The class was worried. Koro-sensei told them that he would leave if they weren't all a part of the best fifty students. No one knew what to do now. They all felt disappointed. But then Karma got up and walked over to their teacher, showing him his results. He was one of the best students, and the change didn't influence him. Everyone was impressed, even Koro-sensei. Nagisa forgot this on failure for a moment, and the rest of the class did the same. Karma asked their teacher if he only told them about leaving because he was afraid. Koro-sensei denied it, but the whole class was sure. They wouldn't let themselves down because of the exam results. But Nagisa forget his positivity once he had to show his results to his mother. He didn't only tell her about his grades but also about the trip the class was planning, and he needed her permission. After promising his mother that he would make it all up with his final exam grades, she finally accepted the trip and even told him to have fun there, of course only because after that he would never see the light of the outside word again but his school books. But still he was content about the talk and looking forward to the trip. He went to his room and immediately unlocked his phone to write Karma: _Guess who's allowed to join the trip?_


	7. I've been silent for too long

Episode 7: I've been silent for too long

 _I'd rather be a lover than a fighter_

 _'Cause all my life, I've been fighting_

 _Never felt a feeling of comfort_

 _All this time, I've been hiding_

 _And I never had someone to call my own_

 _I'm so used to sharing_

 _Love only left me alone_

 _But I'm at one with the silence_

Karma was staring out of the window when he heard Nagisa calling his name. He turned around to face him. "Karma-kun, do you want to be a part of our group?", Nagisa asked him. Karma looked at the small group in front of him: Nagisa, Sugino, Kayano and Okuda. They seemed like a nice clique. "Yes, I'd love to", he responded friendly. "Who else is with us?", he questioned. "I asked Kanzaki-san if she wanted to come with us", Kayano told her friends. "Sounds like fun", Karma added. He was happy to be with this group. The other teams had already formed as well, leaving a group of Terasaka, Yoshida, Muramatsu, Hazama, Takebayashi and Hara. "Karma-kun, you won't be causing a lot of trouble, will you?", Sugino asked. "Of course not", he responded, "or let's say I won't leave any witnesses". Nagisa and Kanzaki laughed, while Sugino just looked confused. The six of them sat down to make plans. Koro-sensei insisted on the students planning their stay in Kyoto. Karasuma-sensei informed them about planning an assassination as well. The government would be sending a professional shooter, and the E-class should include him in their plans.

The next day they all met at the train station. Karma waited for Nagisa, who finally showed up, side by side with Kayano. They seemed to be very concentrated on their talk, so Karma just got onto the train. He didn't want to disturb them and make things awkward again. Their group was playing cards when the girls decided to get something to drink. Nagisa moved a little closer to Sugino. "Sugino-kun, when are you going to talk to Kanzaki-san?", ha asked his friend. "What do you mean? I….I have no idea what you're talking about…", Sugino responded, his face turning red. "Oh come on, you've been staring at her for the last twenty minutes" ,Nagisa stated, "You couldn't make it more obvious". "Since we're talking about obvious things, Nagisa-kun, …. Tell me about you and Kayano-chan", Karma couldn't resist to take the chance. While Sugino seemed released that They weren't talking about him any longer, Nagisa blushed. "there's no Kayano-san and me", he answered. "Are you for real?", Karma kept asking. "Because it seemed like you two get along quite well…" "Yes we do, but that means nothing. I get along well with a lot of people", Nagisa mentioned. Karma wanted to ask further questions, but the girls came back so he decided to be quiet.

 _I'm in need of a savior, but I'm not asking for favors_

 _My whole life, I've felt like a burden_

 _I think too much, and I hate it_

 _I'm so used to being in the wrong, I'm tired of caring_

 _Loving never gave me a home, so I'll sit here in the silence_

 _I found peace in your violence_

 _Can't tell me there's no point in trying_

 _I'm at one, and I've been quiet for too long_

After an eternity, they finally arrived at the hotel. Of course it wasn't as luxurious as the one for the other classes, but the E-class was used to be treated worse. The class didn't have much time to unpack, their programs started quickly. On their first day they were allowed to go sight-seeing without a teacher. In the afternoon Nagisa's group went to the older districts, on their way to a café. Nagisa took his time to regard the ancient buildings. Kyoto was a really beautiful town. Karma joined him. "Nagisa-kun? I hope you're not mad at me for bugging about Kayano-san…?", he asked. Nagisa smiled, "No worries, Karma-kun. It's no problem." Kama had no chance to respond because their group got interrupted by a few older teenagers. Nagisa was surprised how calm Karma remained when he told them to stay away. But they didn't listen. Karma didn't hesitate to attack the group leader in front of him. Nagisa immediately got reminded to an earlier time Karma started a fight in front of him. In the past Karma's cruel act scared him but now he was not scared. He felt just as angry as Karma who was about to attack the next guy. But after hearing a scream, Karma turned around. Kayano and Kanzaki were grabbed by a few guys and tugged away. This focusing of attention was a fault. Karma got attacked from behind. He fell on the ground. He heard Nagisa shouting as he passed out. As Nagisa tried to help him, he and Sugino got beaten up as well. The teenagers left laughing.

Nagisa opened his eyes when he heard Okuda's voice. She ran away in the beginning and hid behind containers. While Okuda took care of Sugino, Nagisa ran over to Karma, "Wake up, Karma-kun! Are you alright?" Karma slowly got up. He told his friends about his theories about who attacked them, as well as he added that he was planning to take them down personally. Koro-sensei's guide turned out to be quite helpful. They finally found the place where the teenagers hid. Luckily, Koro-sensei joined them as well, so rescuing their classmate wasn't that hard. Walking back to the hotel, everyone was content about the day. It seemed like nothing had changed: Nagisa was talking to Kayano, and Okuda was chatting with Kanzaki while Sugino was staring at her. Karma walked behind their teacher, holding up his knife and trying to stab him. Nagisa turned around to watch his attempts. Karma saw him smiling from the corner of his eye, and grinned back.


	8. Don't lie

Episode 8: Don't lie

 _Sweetness, I can read your mind_

 _I see your skin turn red_

 _When you lie_

 _If you don't want to tell me nothing_

 _Then you can go straight to hell_

 _Now I'm gonna tell you something:_

 _You fucked this up yourself_

In the evening, everyone was exhausted. After putting on something comfortable, the students split up into smaller groups and looked for something to do. Nagisa went down to the small gaming hall with Kayano, Kanzaki, Okuda and Sugino. Everyone was impressed by Kanzaki's skills. Nagisa looked over to Kayano and found her beside Kanzaki, her arms on her shoulders. They seemed pretty close since the afternoon. After some time, Nagisa got bored. He left the gaming hall and returned to the room all the boys shared. He was surprised to find them all together sitting in a circle, bending over some sheets of paper. "What are you doing?", he asked Maehara. "We created a list about the girls in our class", he answered, "and as expected, Kanzaki-san is on the first place". Nagisa sat down beside Takebayashi. Mimura and Sugaya asked Sugino about Kanzaki, not receiving the answers they hoped for. "Hey Nagisa-kun", Maehara suddenly questioned, "who would you vote for?" Nagisa blushed. Luckily, Sugino asked Maehara before Nagisa could respond: "And who did you vote for, Maehara-kun?" "That's something I'm not telling you", Maehara stated, crossing his arms behind his head. The door opened, and Karma walked in. "Look like you're having fun", he noted with a grin. "Good timing, Karma-kun", Isogai shouted, "Is there a girl you're interested in?" Karma sat down between Nagisa and Sugino. "Probably Okuda-san", he answered pensively. Some boys started laughing but most of them just looked confused. Nagisa turned to face Karma, trying to read his facial expression. "Wow, you're admitting it", Sugaya spoke. "But why Okuda-san?", Maehara questioned. "Well, I'm sure she'll able to produce some strong, hallucinating-provoking drugs or lethal poisons", Karma responded, "Imagine the chaos I could create". Isogai stood up quickly. "Koro-sensei has been watching us!", he shouted, causing everyone else to get up and chase their teacher down the hallway. It seemed like he upsetted the girls as well, because they came running as well, holding knives and guns. Karma joined Nagisa, who was leaning against a wall, holding his gun. "Seems like we ended up assassinating again", he said smiling. Nagisa smiled in agreement.

 _I'm pulling up my parachute_

 _And I'm jumping from the plane we flew_

 _First I'm gonna tell the truth_

 _But then I'm burning my bridge to you_

After getting ready to sleep, Nagisa left his room to talk to Kayano. They both stood at a window, staring at the calm town beneath them. "What did Koro-sensei do to upset you?", Kayano asked him. "Well, the boys made a ranking about the girls in our class, Koro-sensei found it and we wanted to prevent him from telling everyone else, what about you?", Nagisa stated. Kayano started talking:" Bitch-sensei told us about her assassinations and her seducing when he suddenly sat there to, wanting to hear more erotic stuff." Nagisa smiled compassioning. They stood there in silence for a few moments, then Kayano yawned. "I'll go to sleep now, it's been a pretty rough day". Nagisa wished her a good night and returned to their room.

Nearly everyone was already asleep. Only Okajima and Sugaya were staring at their mobile phones, and Chiba still had his headphone on. Nagisa went to his mattress. He laid down, turning to his right. He wasn't tired and wanted to talk, but Sugino was already asleep. He turned over to his left, facing Karma who just opened his eyes. "Nagisa-kun, where have you been?", he asked quietly. "I've been talking to Kayano-san", he responded honestly. Karma raised an eyebrow. "It's not what you think", Nagisa added quickly. "Tell me, Nagisa-kun, what am I thinking?", Karma grinned. Nagisa decided to change the subject. "Okuda-san? Really?", he asked Karma who just shrugged his shoulders what looked really awkward since Karma was technically lying on the floor. "Yeah, and I told you why as well". Nagisa still was unsure: "So you like her as… a partner in crime?" "Yes, that's a good was to express it", Karma confirmed, turning to lie on his back. "And that's all?", Nagisa demanded. Karma yawned, and turned back to face Nagisa: "Yes, Nagisa-kun, I like her as a friend who helps you killing people and that's it. Why are you even bothered?". Nagisa didn't know what to say. He just stared at Karma, trying to remain calm. "I… was confused. I thought that you would have told me about your love interest.", he said. "And I would have told you if it had been about a love interest, Nagisa-kun.", Karma stated, still looking back into Nagisa's eyes. They rested like that for a moment, then Karma turned on his back and took his phone. Nagisa felt that he got tired, but grabbed his phone as well. In the corner of his eye he noticed Karma's stare. He sighted and was just about to lock his phone again when he received a text message. He opened it curiously: _Almost forgot to wish you a good night._ He looked at Karma whose eyes were glued to his mobile phone. He quickly tipped a response: _Thanks, Karma-kun. Sleep well._ After sending his message Nagisa put his phone away. He looked over to Karma again and saw him smiling at his phone's screen, his face enlightened by it. Nagisa closed his eyes. It has been a rough day. He fell asleep quickly.


	9. I can't handle change

Episode 9: I can't handle change

 _Hangin' out where I don't belong is nothing new to me_

 _I get tired and I get sick and then I lose the strength to leave_

 _Nothing I do is ever good_

 _Nothing I do is ever good enough_

Nagisa was just about to enter the building with Sugino when Isogai joined them. He asked them if they heard the news about a new student. Okajima was exited, more than anyone else. Nagisa smiled as they went into their classroom. But instead of a new student, he just found a big, black box standing in the background. It turned out that their new classmate was a computer program who was developed to kill. Her assassination attacks annoyed the whole class, until Terasaka decided to do something against it. After school Nagisa walked over to Karma to ask him about his thoughts on the new student. They both agreed on not liking their new class mate. Karma even described her as "worse than Bitch-sensei". As they climbed down the hills, the redhead brought up more and more insults for the computer program, such as "Okjiama trying to bring some porn alive but activated his new ego shooter instead" or "my five years old Xbox could do better". Nagisa just listened to him, mostly smiling. He agreed on the new student being annoying but wasn't motivated to insult her all the time. "Why are you so quiet today, Nagisa-kun?", Karma asked his classmate. "It's nothing, Karma-kun", Nagisa answered a little absent-minded. "Is it about your mother?", Karma demanded. "Actually…", Nagisa admitted, "It's about the whole family this time. An uncle of my mother died and his funeral's today". "I'm truly sorry, Nagisa-kun", Karma said. "Thank you, Karma-kun. It's okay. I didn't even know him. But now I'll be meeting the whole family the first time since I'm in E-class. There are many well-educated personalities in my family. My mother already thinks I'm an embarrassment, and meeting all these sophisticates won't help.", Nagisa spoke depressed. Karma was worried about his friend. He knew that Nagisa had a lot of family issues. He wished that he could help him, but he had no idea how. As their ways separated, Nagisa left without a goodbye, just telling Karma: "I'll text you later".

Karma was sitting in front of his desk, staring at his English Book. He didn't even try to focus, the words just got blurry in front of his eyes and melted together. His phone's sound brought him back into reality. He opened his text messages just to see a message from Maehara: _Hello Karma-kun, could you send me your note from the geography lesson? I wasn't able to focus at all thanks to our new classmate._ Karma sighted. He was just about to lock his phone's screen again when he received a new message. His heart missed a beat when he noticed that it was from Nagisa: _Do you know that moment when you can feel eternity by sensing your grandmother's about to talk?_ Karma smiled a little. He knew that he had to lift Nagisa's mood somehow. He responded: _It's nothing compared to the eternity I feel when our class ego shooter starts an attack._ He stared at his screen, waiting for an answer. It felt like minutes, even though it were just a few seconds before Nagisa texted: _True. What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?_ Karma quickly responded: _I don't have any plans yet._ His eye flew over Nagisa's next message: _now you do._

 _Leave me alone_

 _I wanna go home now_

 _I can't help but repeat myself_

 _"I know it's not your fault"_

 _Still lately I begin to shake_

 _For no reason at all_

The next day, everyone was surprised after entering the building. Koro-sensei modified their digital classmate overnight, and now she was an actually acceptable classmate. During the break, Yuzuki even came up with a new name: from now on, everyone called their animated classmate Ritsu. She turned out to be really talented in playing chess, or producing little statues. Karma wasn't that impressed, but still accepting Ritsu more than before. He counted the minutes until their lessons were over. He was curious about Nagisa's plans for the afternoon. Nagisa walked over to Karma's desk. "Would you like to come over to my place after school?", Nagisa asked him. Karma nodded. Before the blue-haired boy could return to his desk, Karma took his chance to ask him: "Hey. Nagisa-kun! Is this the day I get my sweater back?"

While walking down to the train station, they talked about Ritsu's new skills. Both agreed on preferring her that way. As they got on the train, Karma asked Nagisa: "Since when is your mother okay with visitors during the week?" He remembered not being able to spend time with Nagisa on weekdays, because Nagisa was told to study a lot. "My mother isn't home", Nagisa simply responded. He seemed a little cold the last days. The funeral had influenced him more than he would admit. Karma wasn't sure if he liked this side about Nagisa. Of course it seemed to be interesting, and a little exciting as well. Still he preferred the kind version of Nagisa. Karma thought about making a joke about Nagisa becoming a badass, but he decided to let it be. As he entered Nagisa's room, he was a little surprised. It looked different compared to his memories. The desk and the bed changed their positions. The wall which used to be painted blue and covered with posters and pictures was empty and light gray now. The carpet did disappear. The whole room seemed a little emptier than before. Karma stepped over to the only window. He started smiling a little. On the window ledge there still was the picture he gave Nagisa last year as a birthday present. A dark frame encircled a photograph of two boys, both lying on a green carpet. They smiled to the camera. Karma loved that picture. He took it when Nagisa visited him once for studying, but Karma had just gotten a new, fluffy carpet so they spent their time basically on the floor that day. Once Karma got bored, he took out his phone and took a photo of himself and his friend. Their hair were in an interesting contrast with the other's and the carpet. Karma was quite happy to see that even though Nagisa removed nearly his complete decoration, he still kept that photo. Even though their friendship shattered. "You still have that picture", he stated with a soft smile. Nagisa turned to face him and smiled a little as well. Then he handed karma his sweater. "Thanks for borrowing.", he added. "No problem, Karma responded, packing the sweatshirt into his bag. "So, what's your plan?", he asked. "I actually just wanted to spend some time with you. To be honest, I really need some distraction right now", Nagisa admitted. "What do you think about chess?" he added after deliberating for some seconds. Karma grinned, "Your loss, Nagisa-kun". Karma did win four times, but Nagisa was able to beat him twice what made him quite proud. They hadn't noticed how fast time passed, and suddenly Nagisa remarked that it was nearly eight o'clock. "Damn it", he spoke. "Nagisa-kun, since when are you using word like that?", Karma grinned. "I'm sorry, Karma-kun, but you have to leave now. My mother comes home in any second", Nagisa said alarmed. Karma sensed that Nagisa was serious. He quickly got up, grabbed his bag and headed to the door. Nagisa looked at him gratefully as Karma disappeared. He promptly removed the chess plate and sat down in front of his desk. He opened his maths book and mentally prepared himself for the return of his mother. He looked over to the window ledge and beholded the photograph. A smile extended on his face. He took out his phone to text Karma: _I'm sorry that I had to get rid of you that quickly._ He got a response in the net few seconds: _Congratulations, Nagisa-kun. Getting rid of me isn't that easy at all._ Nagisa smiled. He wanted to answer, but he heard the front door opening. He quickly put his phone away and focused on his book.


	10. Nothing's really making any sense at all

Episode 10: Nothing's really making any sense at all

 _Are you lost or incomplete?_

 _Do you feel like a puzzle, you can't find your missing piece?_

 _Tell me how do you feel_

 _Well I feel like they're talking in a language I don't speak_

 _And they're talking it to me_

Karma didn't know what exactly was going on, still he was amused. Bitch-sensei and her former teacher seemed to be in a competition about who could assassinate Karasuma-sensei first. Especially Bitch-sensei's attempts were really entertaining. During the sports lesson she even tried he seducing-technique. It was really obvious that she just acted like she was amazed by Karasuma-sensei. Still the whole class was looking forward to her next attacks. During lunch break, Karma walked over to Nagisa who was sitting on his desk alone. Usually, he was talking to Kayano, but the green-haired girl was chatting with Kataoka today. Karma thought about what he could say, but got distracted as he saw Karasuma-sensei. "Nagisa-kun, look!", he stated not taking his eyes of their teacher. Nagisa got up and joined him. Kayano walked over as well. They spotted Bitch-sensei slowly walking to Karasuma-sensei. It looked like she was about to try another attack. Surprisingly, she succeeded. As the bell rang, the students went back to their desks. Karma stopped on his way, leaning over to Nagisa: "You didn't text me back yesterday". Nagisa lifted his gaze. "My mother rushed into my room, it wouldn't have been beneficial if she found me on my phone", he told Karma who was about to continue his way. He quickly grabbed his arm, causing the redhead to stop. Karma stared at Nagisa confused. The blue-haired boy added: "But she went on a business trip until tomorrow". Before Karma could say something, Koro-sensei entered and he returned to his desk.

 _You can take a picture of something you see_

 _In the future where will I be?_

 _You can climb a ladder up to the sun_

 _Or a write a song nobody has sung_

 _Or do something that's never been done_

At the end of the lesson, their teacher kept talking about going to Hawaii. He told his students about a new movie which premiered in the US first. Isogai, Kataoka, Maehara and Rio surrounded him and asked him questions. Karma just joined Nagisa when he figured that Koro-sensei planned on watching the new "Sonic Ninja"- movie. He noticed Nagisa's looks at their teacher, and remembered Nagisa's passion for the "Sonic Ninja"-Trilogy. So he immediately arranged a plan. "Hey, Nagisa-kun, what do you think about asking Koro-sensei if he would take us with him to the cinema? Since your mother isn't home, she won't be concerning, right?", he asked his friend. Nagisa's blue eyes glanced at Karma with excitement. As their teacher left the building, the two of them followed him. "Koro-sensei, please wait", Nagisa shouted. The teacher turned around. "Could you please take us with you?", the blue-haired boy added with a begging stare. "You are interested in "Sonic Ninja"?", Koro-sensei demanded. "Yes, I've been waiting all the time for the second part", Nagisa responded. Karma rubbed the back of his head as he stated: "And I like the regisseur. He barely works with American comics". Suddenly another voice spoke as well: "I'd like to go there too!". Nagisa took out his phone to see Ritsu appear on the screen. Apparently, she was able to communicate with every student through their phones now. "Alright", Koro-sensei approved. In the fraction of a second he grabbed Nagisa and Karma and stored them in his jacket. As he took off the ground Karma was impressed by his speed. Nagisa was more shocked than amused, and he quickly grabbed Karma's hand. The redhead wasn't that surprised. They once visited a fun park, and as they got on the first roller coaster Nagisa did take Karma's hand too. He liked roller coasters but mostly got overwhelmed the time they started. The last time Nagisa grabbed Karma's hand, the boy's heart started beating a little faster. It has been the day Karma realized something about himself. And right now his heart did the same. Karma told himself to calm down and simply enjoy the view. His fingers embraced around Nagisa's. As the blue-haired boy slowly got used to the speed, he let go of Karma's hand.

They finally reached the island. Nagisa looked around. Hawaii was really beautiful, and totally different to Tokyo or Kyoto. It was warmer, and the air was filled with unknown sounds and scents. Inside the cinema everything was s little different as well. The first thing Nagisa noticed was the cold. The air conditioners seemed to work very well. Koro-sensei handed him a blanket. Nagisa was happy. It was a really perfect afternoon: "Sonic Ninja", popcorn and Karma.

As they returned to Japan, it was already nine in the evening. Nagisa was still hyped over the movie. While Karma was quite calm, Koro-sensei was totally amazed. It was funny to see their teacher in that mood. They thanked their teacher and started to walk down the hills. Nagisa yawned. The journey made him quite tired. When they reached the train station, Nagisa took the chance and asked Karma: "Karma-kun? Would you… would you like to stay at my place?". Karma was surprised by the question. "Actually…yeah, why not? I mean we need to take the rare possibility, right?", he answered smiling. It was nearly ten when they reached Nagisa's apartment. Nagisa went straight to his room, and Karma followed him. "Shall I borrow you something more comfortable?", Nagisa asked, looking at Karma's outfit. Karma nodded. Nagisa searched through his closet. He found some pants and a shirt that would probably fit Karma. He handed it to the redhead. "Go try if it fits you", he stated, and added: "I'm going to the bathroom." He grabbed his own pajamas and left the room. Karma sat down on Nagisa's bed and quickly got changed. He let himself fall on the soft sheets and took out his phone. He found a text message from Rio: _Heard you went to the cinema with Koro-sensei, how was it?_ He responded: _Interesting travelling, but boring movie._ As he pressed the button to send his text, he heard the door opening slowly. Nagisa entered, wearing long black pants and an orange shirt. He wore his long hair down. Karma hasn't seen him looking like that for a long time. Nagisa smiled shyly, closing the door behind him. He sat down at his bed as well. They both just sat there for a moment in silence. Karma considered saying something. He and Nagisa have always shared a bed when one of them stayed overnight at the other's. It has never been a problem. Karma looked at Nagisa, unsure of what he should to. But then he saw Nagisa crawling under the sheets and reaching over to the light switch. "Do you want to stay like this?", he asked with a small grin. Karma quickly laid down as well. Nagisa turned off the light. They remained silent for a second. Karma heard the sheets rustling as Nagisa turned to face him. He turned around as well. The moonlight illuminated the room a little. Karma was able to spot Nagisa's profile. The blue-haired boy asked him: "Aren't you tired, Karma-kun?" Karma smiled a little. "Only a little", he responded and yawned. He heard Nagisa laugh. The smaller boy turned around again, now facing the wall. "sleep well", he stated. Karma was staring at the back of Nagisa's head as he spoke: "You too, Nagisa-kun".


	11. tiny fractures

Episode 11: tiny fractures

 _Burning everything I know_

 _Desperate for a change_

 _Crashing down the ancient roads_

 _Past our yesterday_

 _Maybe there is hunger in my blood_

 _Screaming out loud for what I want_

Nagisa woke up by the sound of his alarm clock. He silenced it and grabbed his phone to check his text messages. There were two unanswered left. He opened the first one: _I'll be home around five in the afternoon._ Nagisa quickly responded his mother with a simply _ok,_ and opened the second one. It was from Sugino: _Nagisa-kun, you have to tell me everything about the movie!_ Nagisa put his phone away again. He looked around in his room. Something was different. He noticed the second bag on his desk, and the bunch of clothes lying beside it. He turned around. His heart missed a beat as he stared at a mess of red hair. It took his brain a second before it remembered what happened last night. "Get up, Karma-kun", Nagisa spoke as he carefully pushed his friend. Karma yawned and lifted his head a little before he let it fall into Nagisa's pillow again. Nagisa sighted. He got up and headed to the bathroom before he started to prepare breakfast.

Karma blinked slowly. He saw Nagisa leaving the room. How did he get up? An alarm clock? Karma hadn't heard anything. That was one reason for him being late so often, beside just not wanting to go the school. He took a deep breath. The pillow scented like Nagisa. Karma closed his eyes again. He could have stayed like that forever, but he got disturbed by Nagisa again. That time he did get up and left the bedroom. He was surprised to see Nagisa already dressed, his hair fixed and handing his something to eat. "Did you sleep well?", he got asked. Karma looked at Nagisa with a smile: "Yeah. I can't remember the last time I slept that well." Nagisa blushed a little a he cleaned the kitchen while Karma was in the bathroom. They left the apartment in time.

Once they reached their school building, they got informed about another new student. Kayano immediately grabbed Nagisa to tell him all her theories. Karma stared at her, unsure about his thoughts. He liked Kayano, but she was a little too possessive in his point of view. He joined Nakamura instead to tell her about the movie.

 _Feeding frenzy is in my brain_

 _I'm hopeful every day_

 _I gotta get it while we are still young enough to break_

 _We're finally not afraid_

The new student was a little… special. He seemed to be very sure about himself. As they got informed that their new classmate called Itona was Koro-sensei's brother who challenged him to battle him. The whole class was exited. Karma was standing next to Isogai when the battle started. He felt Nagisa's looks on him, but he continued watching the fight. Everyone was surprised when they found out that Itona had tentacles too. He even managed to harm Koro-sensei partly, but his guardian ended the fight. The class talked to their teacher to find out more about where he came from, but Koro-sensei remained silent. After school they walked up to Karasuma-sensei and asked him if he would teach them more killing techniques. He agreed on giving them extra lessons after school. Most of his classmates stayed, but Nagisa decided to start taking part from the next day on. He preferred going home today since his mother would be returning too. He went home quickly.

His mother hadn't noticed anything about Karma's stay. Nagisa spent the afternoon studying, or at least he tried to. His mother accepted his longer stays in school from now on. Nagisa told her that he would participate in an extra studying group. Nagisa tried to focus on his history book. After ten minutes of staring into a void, he gave up and grabbed his phone to text Karma: _Are you home already?_ He didn't expect him to answer that quickly: _Yeah, miss me already? Wanna come over?_ Nagisa grinned as he got his bag. He went to the kitchen and told his mother that he accidentally packed Sugino's maths book he really needed it to do his homework. His mother believed the lie. Nagisa left the house and started walking over to Karma. As he reached his apartment, he rang the doorbell. After an eternity the door opened, and Okuda welcomed him.

Nagisa was confused to see her. As he entered Karma's room, he spotted Sugino and Nakamura sitting on Karma's green carpet. The redhead himself was sitting between them, and said to Nagisa as he noticed him: "Hey, Nagisa-kun, great timing! What pizza would you like to have? The same as always?" Nagisa just nodded, and turned to Sugino: "What are you all doing here?" "Karma invited us after the training", he got as a response. Nagisa felt a little strange, probably because he thought he'd be spending time with Karma alone. But he decided to not think about it any longer, and spend a nice time with his friends.


	12. I watched us as we changed

Episode 12: I watched us as we changed

 _Those hardest to love need it most_

 _I watched our bodies turn to ghosts_

 _Such good friends, it has to end it always does_

 _That's the way life is_

 _Do we take that risk?_

They did spend a really nice evening. Still Nagisa was a little disappointed that he had to leave that early. He already figured that he would tell his mother. He has been at Karma's place for nearly three hours. He left the apartment together with Sugino and Okuda, leaving Nakamura alone with Karma. He planned to tell his mother about missing the first train and eating dinner with Sugino's family. To his surprise, his mother didn't say a word about his late return. Nagisa went to his room. He finished his homework, and went to bed. Before turning off the lights, he checked his phone. He got one new text message from Karma: _Nakamura left, so now I'm bored. Entertain me._ Nagisa turned off the lights and grabbed his phone again. He answered: _Well, I don't know how._ He had to wait a minute before he received a response: _What do you think about killing Koro-sensei with poisoned pizza?_ Nagisa laughed a little, trying not to be loud enough for his mother to hear. He texted back: _Go and try it._ He waited for an answer but didn't get one. So he just wrote: _whatever. Good night, Karma-kun._ As he woke up in the morning, he noticed that Karma had texted him back: _sleep well._

The next day, Karma went to school with Nagisa and Sugino as they walked about what else they wanted to do in their leisure time. Passing the baseball field, they got interrupted by a player from the school's baseball club. The boy was talking to Sugino, insulting him. Karma told Sugino to just go, and they went up the hills to their classroom. Sugino seemed depressed. He really liked baseball, and not being able to take part in the club anymore made him sad. Karma and Nagisa tried to encourage him, but it didn't work.

Koro-sensei wasn't that happy in the beginning as well, but then he decided to become the coach of the E-class baseball team, consisting Sugino, Karma, Nagisa, Maehara, Justice, Sugaya, Chiba, Mimura, Okajima and Isogai. They had to participate in a match against the A-class in a few days. Koro-sensei took charge of their training. The next days they replaced their assassination training with baseball lessons. Takebayashi made a lot of calculations. They came up with different strategies and techniques. Everyone was really excited about the game.

 _And so it all boils down to this_

 _We've got our aim but we might miss_

 _We are too fragile just to guess_

 _And I've been in this place before_

 _Fine as we are but we want more_

 _That's human nature at its best_

After five days of training, most of the players seemed quite confident. As the last training ended, karma walked down to the train station with Nagisa. Both were really tired after the work-out. Karma turned to Nagisa as he asked him: "Nagisa-kun how's Kayano-san by the way? She hasn't been to school the last days and I thought you probably know why". Nagisa hesitated a moment, then he told Karma: "She was just ill. She will come back tomorrow and take part in the basketball team, so she's already recovering". He looked back at Karma and added: "why are you asking?". "I'm just caring about a classmate", Karma answered. "And I wanted to know if you'll be able to focus on the game tomorrow", he mentioned. Nagisa gave him a confused stare as he responded: "Of course, Karma-kun".

The game went actually well, and against every expectation, the E-class was able to beat the A-class. Koro-sensei nearly freaked out. He constantly repeated how proud he was, and invited every student to stay after the game and come to his garden party. Nagisa was allowed to join as well. His mother came to watch the game, and as she saw her son's class winning, she accepted Nagisa's longer stay at the school. Now every student, already exhausted from the game, had to climb up the hills again. As they arrived, Koro-sensei had already prepared everything. Even Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei came. The octopus managed to convince them to help him cooking. The whole class sat down to eat, and after they finished they split up into smaller groups who chatted, played games or tried to kill their teacher. Nagisa sat down beside Kayano who still looked a little pale. He asked her how she felt, and they talked about the game. After some minutes, Karma joined them. "I'm glad you're back, Kayano-san", he spoke, "We really missed you, right, Nagisa-kun?" The blue-haired boy immediately blushed. Kayano laughed a little. Before Nagisa was able to say anything, Kanzaki came over to get Kayano. The girls joined Yada and Kataoka, and left Nagisa and Karma behind. Karma yawned. "What a day", he mentioned. Nagisa nodded. "I'm glad that all worked out", he added. Karma faced Nagisa with a smile on his face. "I'm really glad I joined the E-class", he spoke and started laughing. "Damn, I never thought I'd say something like that". Nagisa shared his laugh. Karma became a little serious again. "No, I mean it. I'm really glad to be a part of this class. And I'm also really glad that we're friends again, Nagisa-kun." He felt his cheeks turning a little red, and quickly looked up to the night sky. "I wish everything could stay that way." But that wasn't the case. Everything changed. And that change already started the next day.


	13. In search of lost time

Episode 13: In search of lost time

 _And I woke up today and found that you were waiting here for me and I thought_

 _Old friend, it's bittersweet_

 _But how could you do this to me?_

 _How could you do this to me?_

Karma really enjoyed the training with Karasuma-sensei, especially fighting with knives. From him, using two knives at one time wasn't a problem at all. His sports teacher recognized his talent. Karma even came to every single one of his lessons. Maehara and Isogai were quite good as well. When they attacked Karasuma-sensei together, they succeeded to strike him more often every time. Kataoka and Fuwa weren't that bad as well. Karasuma-sensei was impressed every time they attacked him. Karma had never noticed it before, but Nagisa seemed to have some knife-fighting kills as well. One time he attacked Karasuma-sensei, who panicked and throw the blue-haired boy to the ground. Karma stopped his attacks against Mimura and ran over to him. He stopped beside Kayano and Sugino as he saw Nagisa getting up again. Karasuma-sensei apologized to Nagisa who weakened the worries. Kayano helped Nagisa up, and hugged him. Karma turned away. He felt strange seeing the two of them together. Everyone was just about to continue the training as a strange man showed up. He introduced himself as the new sports teacher in order to relieve Karasuma-sensei. Karma looked at the new teacher skeptically. He seemed quite nice, but Karma had doubts. He had enough from new teachers. Bitch-sensei got actually acceptable, but that was the borderline for Karma. He decided not to come to the next sports lesson.

On his way home, Karma asked Nagisa about his opinions on their new teacher called Takaoka-sensei. "I think he's okay", Nagisa answered to Karma's questions. "I just don't like how he tries to buy us with sweet, and I thinks it's weird that he calls himself our father and us his family", Karma mentioned, "I personally prefer Karasuma-sensei. He didn't treat us like children." Nagisa didn't answer. He was lost in thoughts.

 _We talk through lines, we're made of smoke_

 _And just in time, we drift away_

 _Diffusing light, confusing times_

 _Growing up, or cascading down?_

 _Cascading down_

 _I'm hurting now_

As already planned, Karma didn't show up to the sports lessons. He decided to take a walk in the forest instead, and read a book. The rest of the class got into their sports clothes and gathered in front of the building. That time Takaoka-sensei showed them his real self. Within two minutes he beat up Maehara and Kanzaki. Before he was able to hurt Kurahashi as well, Karasuma-sensei stopped him. Karma noticed the loud sounds and shouts coming from the school area, and approached the terrain. He saw the students and teachers in a disgruntled mood. Takaoka-sensei just went to his bag and came back handing Karasuma-sensei something made of iron. Karma held his breath. Was that a knife? Karasuma-sensei seemed angry, but sure of what he's doing. After some moments he handed it to Nagisa. Karma was confused, and shocked. He had no idea of what was going on and why on earth Karasuma-sensei just gave a knife to Nagisa. He came close, still staying in the forest to remain hidden. He saw Nagisa taking the knife. He retained it between his teeth as he stretched his arms and shoulders. After that, he faced their new teacher. Karma was worried, but knew that he couldn't help his friend. Nagisa walked up to Takaoka-sensei, smiling at him. Everyone was confused by his acts, including Takaoka. As Nagisa reached him, he quickly attacked. His victim fell back, and Nagisa managed to get behind him. The next moment, he sat on the ground, pressing the blade against Takaoka's throat. Karma was surprised and impressed. He got reminded of the first time he noticed Nagisa's skill to attack people within a second. As an assassin, he was really talented. Karma saw Koro-sensei taking away the knife, and eating it. Karma didn't care anymore. He left his hiding place and walked over to Nagisa who stared at him confused. "Damn it, Nagisa-kun! I just came back to get my maths book, and find you lying on the ground with our new teacher", he spoke. Nagisa grinned at him with red cheeks, breathing heavily. "He's not our teacher anymore, thanks to Nagisa", Maehara informed Karma. "Good job, Nagisa-kun", Karma said proudly, quickly ruffling Nagisa's hair. The small boy smiled. Kayano started to applause, and the rest of the class joined in. Nagisa looked a little embarrassed. He seemed not to like the attention. Karma grinned. He was really proud of him. Nagisa has turned from the little boy who was afraid of violence and follow his mother's rules to a teen who managed to knock out a grown soldier and lied to his mother in order to meet his friends. His evolution was very impressive. Even Koro-sensei saw it now; Nagisa had the skills to be an assassin.

Nagisa walked home with Sugino, Kayano, Karma and Ritsu who had suddenly appeared at his phone screen. They talked about all the things Karasuma-sensei found out about Takaoka. No one would have thought that he actually was a violent sociopath with anger issues. As Karma said that he would remind him of Terasaka, everybody started laughing. Nagisa was happy about how the day ended. He was glad about finally getting noticed by all his classmates and teachers. He even felt a little more self-confident than before. In the evening, he got tired very quickly. He grabbed his phone to check his messages, as he usually did before going to sleep. That night he had received five texts. He opened them, feeling excited. The first one was from Kayano: _Thanks for saving us today, Nagisa_ _._ The second message was from Maehara: _Couldn't have done it better today. Great job!_ The next two ones were sent by Sugino: _What you did today was really impressive_ and _Could you please lend me your new Sonic Ninja comic once you finished it?_ Nagisa smiled as he answered him that he would take it with him tomorrow. The last one was From Kayano as well: _Good night sleep tight!_ Nagisa responded her _sleep well, Kayano-san._ He stared into the darkness of his room for a minute before he decided to write karma as well: _Good night, Karma-kun._ He put away his phone and fell asleep quickly.


	14. Can I be close to you?

Episode 14: Can I be close to you?

 _Shall I write it in a letter?_

 _Shall I try to get it down?_

 _Oh, you fill my head with pieces_

 _Of a song I can't get out_

Koro-sensei guided his students through the forest. The weather was warm, and everyone felt like missing school and going to the beach. Sugino walked behind their teacher, side by side with Karma and Nagisa. They stopped at a glade. Koro-sensei stepped aside, making a proud face. The students were amazed: the octopus had created their very own swimming pool in the middle of the woods. Now it made sense that he insisted on bringing their swim suits. Everyone jumped into the pool quickly. Nagisa smiled at his teacher. The idea of a private pool only for E-class students pleased him. He joined his friend who already entered the pool. Nakamura stared at him and tried to look surprised as she told him about her astonishment that he was a boy. Nagisa just grinned. Today wasn't a day for being in a bad mood. His eyes scanned the pool, looking for Karma. The redhead was standing at the edge of the pool, trying to throw Koro-sensei into the pond. It turned out that their teacher didn't want to get into the water because it would influence his power. Nagisa and his classmates still trued to throw water at him.

In the afternoon, the happy mood got interrupted by Terasaka. Karma tried too talk to him, ending up challenging him to kill Koro-sensei if he hated him so much. Terasaka left the class angrily, leaving behind his classmates wondering. Mimura asked since when he has been in such a bad mood, but no one knew the answer. Karma sat down beside Nagisa, Sugino, Kayano and Kanzaki. "What happened to Terasaka-kun?", he asked his friends, "He seems to be more upset than else." Sugino just shrugged his shoulders and continued eating his sandwich. Karma was wondering about what possibly could have provoked Terasaka's behavior. A he had left the class, he informed his class mates to join him later at the pool in order to assassinate Koro-sensei. What did he come up with? The whole class agreed on coming.

 _Can I take you to a moment?_

 _Where the fields are painted gold_

 _And the trees are filled with memories_

 _Of the feelings never told?_

Terasaka instructed the E-class students who decided to join him to divide out the whole pool. Even though all his friends were there, Karma didn't take part. He remained in the background, wondering about what Terasaka wanted to achieve. Finally, Koro-sensei showed up. Terasaka aimed a gun at him. As he pulled the trigger, something unexpected happened. Instead of shooting a bullet, the gun activated something at the barrage that kept the pool together. The barrage opened, and the students got swept away. Karma cringed. Nagisa! He ran along the river trying to find him. Terasaka looked confused, like he didn't know what was going on. Koro-sensei quickly rushed to the barrage in order to save his students from falling down the waterfall. Karma was confused by his own reactions. Of course he was worried about all his classmates, but the first one to come to his mind was Nagisa. He whipped away his thoughts. It made sense that he first thought of Nagisa, he was his best friend. As Karma reached the edge, Koro-sensei was lifting Nagisa up with one of his tentacles, let him fall on the ground and continued saving the class. Karma ran over to the small boy who just spit out some water. Karma let out a relieved "Nagisa!" as he reached the blue-haired boy. He took his face between his hands as he asked him: "Nagisa, are you okay?" Nagisa simply nodded. Karma felt like a load was taken off his mind. He felt Nagisa's hands touching his. Out of surprise he let go of Nagisa's face. Karma looked around. Nearly everyone of his classmates was lying on the ground around him. Kayano got up and walked over to Nagisa to check if he was alright. Karma got up as well. He hadn't even noticed that he has fallen on his knees to comfort Nagisa. He turned to Terasaka and talked to him about what exactly happened. He felt the cogs spinning inside his head. He quickly formed a new plan to get rid of Itona and Shiro. And it worked. They were able to defeat them. Karma was quite proud of himself. He got down the cliff to join the others. Terasaka had figured out by now that Karma's plan could have brought him in dangerous problems. As a revenge he threw Karma into the water and pushed him under the water. Karma shouted for help, but started laughing too. He spotted Nagisa's eyes on him. He blue-haired boy grinned and continued talking to Koro-sensei.

Karma was glad when he finally arrived home. He was happy about wearing dry clothes again. After taking a shower, he went to his room. He checked his phone only to see the new text message. It was from Okajima: _thanks to my fabulousness, I decided to share today's memories with you._ Karma had no idea what he meant until he discovered the added link to his Cloud profile. Apparently, Okajima got them access to the photos he took over the day. Karma clicked through them. Kanzaki, wearing a swim suit. Nakamura, wearing a swim suit. Kurahashi, wearing a swim suit. He kept clicking. Okajima, you little pervert, he thought. He stopped as he found a picture of himself. Kanzaki and Okuda were in the background. It looked like they were the original reason for Okajima taking the picture. He clicked to look at the next picture. He saw Kayano talking to Nagisa. They seemed very intimate. What could he even see in her, Karma thought as he zoomed in the picture. He had to admit that she did look pretty. He sighted. What am I even doing, he asked himself as he moved the picture detail to look at Nagisa. Karma felt a sting in his chest as he looked at the blue-haired boy closely. He immediately put away his phone and stared into the darkness oh his room instead. After a few seconds he took his phone again. As he unlocked the screen, the picture of Nagisa reappeared. Karma closed his eyes. No, this won't happen again, he told himself. It can't happen again. He closed the picture, and Nagisa's face disappeared- but a second later, his name popped up on the screen. Karma took a deep breath as he opened the text message: _Thanks for taking care of me today, Karma-kun. Good night._ Karma smiled a little. He answered: _Anytime. Sleep well._ Karma put away his phone. Nor again, he repeated silently until he was tired enough to fall asleep.


	15. Only fools fall for you

Episode 15: Only fools fall for you

 _I am tired of this place, I hope people change_

 _I need time to replace what I gave away_

 _And my hopes, they are high, I must keep them small_

 _Though I try to resist I still want it all_

Karma woke up early. He decided to just stay in bed until his alarm would go off. He stared up to the ceiling. After a minute or two he got bored and grabbed his phone. During the night he received two new text messages. Karma opened the first one: _Could you please check if I forgot my chemics book at you place?_ He sighted. Nakamura was really unorganized sometimes. He read the second message. It was from Nagisa: _Morning Karma-kun, since we're having exams soon, could you please help me with my maths problems again? Probably that afternoon?_ Karma tried to remember if he already had any plans, but either he didn't or he simply forgot them. He responded: _fine. At my place?_ He was just about to put away his phone when he got another message, again from Nagisa: _that would be great, thanks._ Karma quickly texted: _no problem._ Then he got up and went to the bathroom.

This day, they were allowed to study outside during the lesson. Koro-sensei was convinced that the fresh air would be helpful and produce some doubles again. Karma glanced over to Nagisa who was sitting beneath a tree, reading a book. He once looked up and asked their teacher something. Karma tried to focus on his own book. But he wasn't able to. It was pointless. He already knew the substance from another book that was about nearly the same. He decided to take a break and took out his phone. Ritsu appeared on the screen, looking at him judgingly. "What?", he asked her. "Why aren't you studying?", his digital classmate asked. "I already finished, and now leave", he answered annoyed, and Ritsu disappeared. Karma tipped a text message saying _Bored as well?_ and decided to end it to Nakamura, Okuda, Sugino, Nagisa and Kayano. He was wondering who would be answering. After a minute he got the first response from Nakamura: _always, dude._ Short after that he got another one from Sugino: _don't you have anything to do?_ Karma grinned. He looked over to Nagisa again. He clearly muted his phone in order not to get disturbed. How smart. "Nagisa-kun!", Karma hissed. The blue-haired boy lifted his gaze. Karma pointed as his phone. Nagisa rolled his eyes but took out his phone as well. He clearly expected something more relevant because he lifted his eyebrow as he opened his text messages. Still he texted back: _Karma, I'm trying to study._ Karma contorted his face. He responded: _I can see that. But…_ Nagisa answered within seconds. _But? What's on your mind?_ Karma suppressed a grin as he texted: _oh you can't imagine what's on my mind right now ;P._ He saw Nagisa blushing. He got another message: _honestly, right now I have better things to do_. Karma knew that texting again wouldn't help. He put away his phone and tried to focus on his book again.

After school, Karma left the building with Nagisa and Kayano as Isogai stopped them and asked if they wanted to study the next day in the library. Kayano and Nagisa accepted gratefully, but Karma wasn't interested in studying there. He was sure that they wouldn't be studying without getting disturbed by some A-class student.

 _Our lives don't collide, I'm aware of this_

 _We've got differences and impulses and your obsession with_

 _The little things you like stick, and I like aerosol_

 _I don't give a fuck, I'm not giving up, I still want it all_

Karma and Nagisa arrived at Karma's place after talking the whole time about the A-class. They both knew that the next exams would only be another test by the principal. They went to Karma's room. Nagisa sat down on Karma's bed as he unpacked his bag. Karma more or less just stood there and watched him. He essentially needed to figure out more about his feelings. He sat down beside Nagisa and demanded him: "Would you like something to drink?" Nagisa looked at him and nodded. Karma stood up again and headed to the kitchen. He got two glasses of water and returned to his room. As he entered again, he found Nagisa laying on his bed with his eyes closed. He quickly placed the glasses on his desk and went over to his bed. After a brief moment of hesitation, he let himself fall down beside Nagisa. His hand landed beside Nagisa's, so close that they touched. Nagisa didn't react at all, but Karma felt his blood rush to his head. Damn it, he thought. He quickly took away his hand. "So what are you doing, Nagisa-kun? I don't know that much about studying but I'm sure that it doesn't work like that.", Karma spoke. "Nagisa opened his mouth to speak while his eyes remained closed: "I know. And I changed my mind. I'm tired of all the studying." He turned his head to face Karma and opened his eyes. They laid there a few seconds in silence. Then Nagisa got up, drank some water and sat down at the desk. Karma joined him.

Nagisa would have preferred another afternoon studying with Karma as he was sitting in the library the next afternoon beside Kayano, Kanzaki, Nakamura, Isogai and Okuda. It didn't get better when the five geniuses of the A-class joined them. After trying to threaten and chase them away, the A-class students annoyed the E-class teens so much that they came up with a bet after Okuda tried to frighten them. After they informed Koro-sensei about their deal, he got even more excited about the exams. Karma didn't share his excitement. He just wanted it to be over as quickly as possible. The next day the exams began. Nagisa was only a little nervous, at least that was what he tried to tell himself. He walked to the exam room aide with Nakamura. They wished each other good luck and sat down. Nagisa tried to relax. Karma was right, he had nothing to lose.


	16. sealed my fate when I looked underneath

Episode 16: I sealed my fate when I looked underneath

 _Crystal clear, I've never met someone like you_

 _So easy to read_

 _Your soul is at peace_

 _Everybody, you're consuming me_

Writing an exam felt like a gladiator fight to Nagisa. But writing his English exam, he felt quite confident. He sat in the classroom beside Nakamura, Mimura, Yada and Takebayashi. He didn't dare to glance over to them, but he knew that they were doing fine as well. It was a little different writing the maths exam. Everyone was a little more worried and started off quickly. Karma sat in the back of the classroom. He let his stare slide over the students in front of him. He stopped as he saw Nagisa. The blue-haired boy was already working and seemed very concentrated. Karma smiled a little. Slowly he took his pen and started as well. He didn't want to hurry and took his time. As always, he was relaxed, and was glad that he remained chilled while writing tests too.

The next day, Koro-sensei brought the results to share them with his class. He started with English. Nagisa was a little excited as the octopus began to open the envelope. Nakamura came in first. The whole class was very happy. This meant that they were allowed to destroy one of Koro-sensei's tentacles and got an advance against the A-class. Nagisa got placed sixth. Still he was proud of himself. In Japanese, Kanzaki came in second. She wasn't able to beat Asano but was content about her work as well. In social studies, Isogai could beat Asano and got ranked first. Okuda was able to get in first in science, which meant that the E-class already had more first places than the A-class. Now everyone was waiting for the maths results. Asano got placed first again. Still all together the E-class won their bet. After everyone got their results, they were allowed to take a break. Nagisa was looking for Karma, but he seemed to have left the classroom. He found the redhead outside. His facial expression didn't foretell something positive. Nagisa slowly came closer. As Karma noticed him, he simply handed him his result sheet. Karma was ranked tenth in maths, and thirteenth altogether. Nagisa knew that Karma wasn't happy about his outcomes. Still he wanted to cheer him up a bit. He didn't like seeing his best friend in such a bad mood. "If you want to feel better, I can show you my results", Nagisa began carefully. Karma just shrugged his shoulders. Nagisa felt like he needed to do something. He got in front of Karma and placed his hands on his shoulders. Karma lifted his gaze. "Listen, Karma-kun, I know you're not happy about your results, but please don't be that depressed about it. You're the smartest person I know, and grades don't define that. Regardless of your results you did a wonderful job, and I'm proud of you." He looked into Karma's eyes, trying to spot a reaction. Karma couldn't help but smile a little as he stared back on the ground. He heard the bell ringing to inform the students that the next lesson started. Nagisa kept looking at Karma. Ashe heard the bell, he stepped forward a little and his hands went from Karma's shoulders around his neck and back. He closed his eyes as he stretched to stand on his tiptoes. Karma was surprised by the hug. But he nearly automatically enclosed his arms around Nagisa's waist. He felt his heart beating faster. As Nagisa stepped back again and ended the embrace, Karma's heart went back to normal. Damn it, he thought, not again. Nagisa smiled at Karma for a second before he turned around to walk back to the building. Karma followed him, trying to avoid his thoughts.

 _That was all I needed to hear_

 _No, you'll never be mine_

 _No, I've never felt so bittersweet_

 _When I'm reading between the lines_

As they returned to the classroom, Terasaka, Yoshida, Muramatsu and Hazama were talking to Koro-sensei. All four of them came first in Home Economics and were now convinced that they should be allowed to destroy a tentacle each as well. The whole class supported their request. After trying to deny it, the teacher finally agreed. After the lesson the E-class had to climb down the hills again in order to get to the student resembling. Even Karma joined them. They had agreed on their wish from the A-class for winning the bet. After Isogai told the A-class about their wish, they accepted it. The whole E-class was excited. With the A-class' agreement, they were allowed to go on a three days trip to an island.

After the resembling, Karma left the building looking for Nagisa. He found the blue-haired boy talking to Kayano. She didn't do that well in the exams and was the second worst of the E-class. Karma saw Nagisa trying to calm her down. He was near enough to the coupe that he was able to understand Nagisa's words. He told her about how proud he was and that grades won't be defining intelligence. Karma grimaced. These words were the same Nagisa told him earlier that day. He was a little disappointed. He really believed Nagisa's words but hearing him saying them to Kayano as well made him feel weird. He decided to ignore it and continued his way as he got accompanied by Chiba and Sugaya. Chiba was teasing Sugaya for his exam results, he got ranked last of the E-class. But Sugaya didn't let the insults influence his mood. He was quite confident for being in the middle in the school ranking. Karma ignored them mostly. He already mentally moved on to packing his stuff for the trip. He was really looking forward to spending time with his friend on the island and assassinating Koro-sensei. Also he planned on finding out more about the confusion he felt around Nagisa lately.


	17. The night's just long enough

Episode 17: The night's just long enough

 _My mother told me that the world has got its plans_

 _I wanna hold em til they burn right through my hands_

 _Don't ask me questions cause I'm tired of confessing_

 _And I know that it's not much to say but I swear that I'd like to change_

Nagisa was really excited for the summer break. Since he did quite well in his exams, his mother got a little less stressed out, and allowed him more like staying out longer or going on the school trip. The trip started in a few days, and every E-class student was looking forward to it. Nagisa spend one of his first day without school with Sugino and Maehara. It was two days before the trip. They went for a walk in the forest nearby their school building. Sugino wanted to collect some insects he wanted to sell. While walking through the woods, they met Kurahashi who was looking for insects as well. She even put up traps and seemed really hyped. It only got weirded when they met Okajima. He sent a trap as well, but his victim was a little bigger than the insects and looked more like an octopus than a caterpillar. But his plan failed as Kurahashi and Koro-sensei were jumping up and down on a pile of porn magazines out of excitement that they found an unusual insect. The scene was really bizarre.

The next day, the students had one of their special trainings in order to kill Koro-sensei. Even Lovro joined them. Today they trained shooting. Especially Chiba and Hayami liked the duty. They were really good snipers and hit nearly every target. Nagisa liked their training, it didn't matter to him that he wasn't that good as a sniper. He was a little disappointed that Karma didn't show up. Since their talk about Karma's exam results Nagisa felt like the redhead ignored him. But he tried to focus on the training. After a talk with Lovro he felt more and more confident about their new assassination plan. It was complicated and depending on many several factors, but the plan would hopefully work. After Nagisa returned home, he started packing his suitcase for the trip. He took a break and sat down on his bed. He decided to text Karma: _Hey Karma-kun, why didn't you come to the training today?_ He didn't expect him to answer that quickly as he received a response: _I wasn't in the mood today._ Nagisa bit his lip. He wrote: _But you're in the mood for the trip tomorrow, are you?_ As Karma answered, Nagisa felt a little released: _Of course, Nagisa-kun. I can't wait to travel to the island_ _._

 _I can't sleep, I hope I stay awake_

 _Cause I've been running, running, running all day_

 _Long nights, no peace_

 _I feel like everybody's eyes on me_

Karma did feel a little stressed as he got on the boat. He hasn't slept well last night. And he missed the training with Karasuma-sensei and Lovro. He felt like his classmates were a little mad about him missing lessons. Probably they weren't happy about themselves putting so much effort in killing Koro-sensei while Karma literally did nothing. As they arrived at the island, he forgot his concerns. The surrounding area was just too beautiful. But they didn't have much time to relax. Their plan was to assassinate Koro-sensei on the same day's evening. In order to do that, they split up in smaller groups like they did on their trip to Kyoto. They already planned everything and organized the teams and their duties and responsibilities. First everyone got their room keys. The students shared one room with another one, because there were only double rooms. Nagisa had agreed with Karma to share a room. They brought their bags to their room on the fifth floor. Karma immediately threw his stuff on the first bed. "You prefer sleeping on the window side, right, Nagisa-kun?", he stated. Nagisa nodded. "Are you okay, Karma-kun? You seem a little…. distanced lately?", Nagisa asked his friend. "and I don't want you to become distanced. I don't want us to become strangers again." Karm lifted his gaze. The last time they became strangers again had a reason Karma would never tell Nagisa. And he promised to himself to not do it again. He won't let Nagisa down again. "Don't worry, Nagisa", he spoke as he sat down on the bed beside the blue-haired boy, "that won't happen again. I promise." Nagisa stared at the floor. He smiled yet there where some tears shimmering in the corner of his eye. Karma had to do something. He turned a little to face Nagisa and hugged him tightly by putting his arms around his shoulders. As he felt Nagisa's arms around his spine, he took a deep breath and inhaled Nagisa's scent. He felt better, better than he ever did before. It happened again, didn't it?

In the afternoon, the groups each did their parts. While one group kept Koro-sensei busy by trying to kill him, Nagisa's group consisting of Karma, Sugino, Nakamura and Kayano explored the terrain. As the group of Kanzaki, Okuda, Hara and Yuzuki went on a boat tour with their teacher, the rest of the class was able to hide a lot of guns and knives. Later on, Koro-sensei went to explore some caves with Terasaka, Muramatsu, Yoshida and Hazama; Chiba, Hayami, Sugaya and Takebayashi got to a glade in the forest to find a good place for sniping. In the evening, most of the students met again on the beach with Koro-sensei. He already seemed a little tired and had a terrible sunburn that turned his skin black. After the students complained about it, he quickly changed his skin, forgetting that this weakened his powers. The teen asked him to get into a chapel nearby the beach and got into their positions. It was finally time to execute the assassination plan.


	18. Overhead of the aqua blue

Episode 18: Overhead of the aqua blue

 _I'm not passive but aggressive_

 _Take note, it's not impressive_

 _Empty your sadness like you're dumping your purse_

 _On my bedroom floor_

 _We put your curse in reverse_

 _And it's our time now if you want it to be_

Mimura's movie really embarrassed Koro-sensei, and it took one hour. After watching it, the octopus was totally wasted. He didn't even notice what has changed about the surroundings. Nearly half of the students had left the chapel. They took their positions and waited for the signal. The water that ran into the chapel influenced Kori-sensei's speed, and destroying seven tentacles lowered his abilities as well. After destroying the chapel and creating a water cell, they limited his space, and the two snipers appeared out of the water. But before their bullets reached the teacher, an explosion scrambled everything. The students who were using fly-boards fell into the sea. Nagisa reemerged out of the water and looked around. Kayano stopped beside him on a jet ski and asked him if he was alright. Nagisa nodded and kept staring at the sea. Where was Koro-sensei? Had the assassination been successful? Suddenly something small appeared at the surface. The whole class noticed that the attack didn't succeed. Koro-sensei was alive, he just changed his appearance into a small globe. The students swam back to the beach and got out of the water. Everyone was disappointed about the failed attack. They went back to the hotel.

Karma sat at a table beside Nagisa. He was bored by everyone's depressed mood and tiredness. At least Nagisa seemed to be awake and not too sad about their failure. Karma looked at the small, blue-haired boy. He automatically had to smile a little. He was finally ready to admit it to himself: He was in love with his best friend. Again. Somehow, the other boy had managed to take his breath away every time Karma looked at him. And this time, he won't use his feelings as an excuse to distance himself from Nagisa again. It already broke his heart the last time, and he knew that it broke Nagisa's as well. The last time he was angry about the way he felt and tried to deny it. And he distanced himself because he couldn't stand being around Nagisa anymore. But right now, he didn't care about these thoughts. He would still be around Nagisa, he just had to pay attention about only showing him his feelings as a friend. He kind of knew that it wouldn't work pushing his attraction towards Nagisa aside all the time. But he didn't care about that in the moment.

 _And in the end_

 _I'd do it all again_

 _I think you're my best friend_

 _Don't you know that the kids aren't al-, kids aren't alright_

 _I'll be yours_

 _When it rains it pours_

 _Stay thirsty like before_

 _Don't you know that the kids aren't al-, kids aren't alright_

Karma's thoughts got interrupt as Nakamura fell down beside the table. Nagisa hurried to help her. She just laid there, not able to move. In the same moment Okajima's nose started bleeding. Some other students broke down as well. Karasuma-sensei entered the room. He asked the waitress about the next hospital, but she informed him that there wasn't one on the island. Suddenly his phone rang. An unknown caller told him about being the one who infected the students. He wanted Koro-sensei as exchange for the antidote. The two smallest students who weren't infected should come to him for the exchange. Karasuma-sensei looked at Kayano and Nagisa. But the class came to the conclusion that they wouldn't do what the caller said. The ten infected students stayed at the hotel with two others who took care of them. The others got into cars and drove up the mountain. They stopped as Ritsu told them her plan. In order not to get seen, they had to climb up the last part. They only had one hour. It seemed like a tough plan, but they had to do it to save their classmates. Nagisa looked at Karma only to find him already staring at him. He walked over to him and asked: "What do you think? The plan seems a little risky." Nagisa responded: "It probably is. But we have no choice." Karma looked up the mountain. He knew Nagisa was right. The blue-haired boy added: "Besides, I thought you liked risky things." Karma grinned, even if it was just for a moment. He was determined to save his classmates. He looked at his phone again. Ritsu had sent the plan of the building to every student. They needed to get to the top of the hotel within one hour. Karma was sure that they would be able to do it. They will succeed. They simply had to.


	19. Don't let them get away

Episode 19: Don't let them get away

 _My one heart hurt another_

 _So only one life can't be enough_

 _Can you give me just another_

 _For that one who got away?_

As they started climbing, Nagisa had no idea of what was awaiting them. He tried to keep up, but the others were faster than him. He spotted Karma in front of him. He shouted "Wait for me, Karma-kun" in order to get the redhead's attention. Karma stopped for a moment and responded: "I'd really like to, but we don't have much time", and continued climbing. He's right, Nagisa told himself and went on. Karma was quite good in climbing. He easily passed Kayano while warning her about a sharp rock in front of her. Nagisa was the last one to reach the edge. He joined Isogai as Karasuma-sensei explained the plan again. Ritsu opened the door and they entered the building. But immediately after stepping into the hotel, they got confronted with the next problem: the lobby was literally filled with guards. Still Bitch-sensei didn't seem impressed. He just walked into the lobby, telling her students not to worry. She stumbled towards the guards, pretending to be drunk. She asked every one of them to come closer and watch her playing the piano. The E-class was surprised by that move. Nobody knew that she was able to play an instrument. While the guards focused on her, the students and Karasuma were able to pass them unnoticed. As they reached the third floor, it was easier to move on. From now on they weren't hiding anymore but tried to move naturally just like they were guests of the hotel. Karma was walking beside Nagisa. He felt a little better now that they didn't have to hide anymore. He asked Nagisa: "So tell me, my dearest friend, has your stay been admissible yet?" with a contrived voice. Nagisa laughed quietly. "Oh yes, your highness, it has been a pleasure", he answered trying to readjust Karma's weird voice. Karma grinned as he continued: "I am so pleased to hear that, your royal highness…" He got interrupted by Karasuma-sensei: "Now you're overdoing it, Karma". Nagisa and Karma grinned at each other. Nagisa was grateful for Karma being that serene. He personally was very concerned, and Karma being calm and entertaining helped him a lot. He wanted to tell him that but got distracted by Fuwa's shouts. Karasuma-sensei was rushing forward to pull Terasaka and Yoshida away from a stranger who just appeared in front of them. As he saved the students, the man pulled out something black and Karasuma got hit by a cloud of gas. Still he fought his opponent, even though he got strongly influenced by the chemical substance. Before collapsing, he managed to knock out the stranger. The students quickly manacled him and hid him as well as possible. Isogai tried to help up Karasuma-sensei.

 _There'll be no rest for the wicked_

 _There's no song for the choir_

 _There's no hope for the weary_

 _If you let them win without a fight_

The group continued their way through the hotel, just a little slower than before because Isogai had to carry Karasuma. Now the class had to carry two of their teachers. Nagisa preferred carrying Koro-sensei, who was just a fraction of Karasuma-sensei at the moment. This time, no one made jokes or was relaxed, not even Karma. It was the perfect moment for Koro-sensei to inform them that right now he was in the vacation-mood. No one laughed, everyone was just upset. Sugaya told Nagisa to spin their teacher around to get him sick, what Nagisa was pleased to do. Karma grabbed Nagisa's wrist to stop him and tried to calm his classmates down. He hadn't noticed that he still held Nagisa's wrist as the blue-haired boy started talking to Koro-sensei. Karma let go of his arm, hoping that he didn't hurt him. "What makes you feel like holiday?", Nagisa asked his teacher who told him that it was his students' independence that made him proud.

After a few minutes the E-class got stopped in their tracks again. A tall man stood in the middle of the floor, leaning against the window. The way he moved told the students that he had to be an assassin as well. The man suddenly moved his hand and broke the glass beside him. The teens were shocked about his act. The man spoke: "that's ridiculous. Your steps tell me that there's no combatant for me in your group. What happened to the teacher? The gas had worked, didn't it?" The students left their hiding place and faced the assassin. Everyone was scared, except Karma. He moved in front of his group. The killer informed that that his assassination techniques only included his bare hands. Karma still didn't seem scared, he mostly looked unimpressed as he stayed in front of his friends in order to protect them. The assassin took out his walkie-talkie. But before he was able to speak, Karma crushed it against the window. A determined expression sparkled in his eyes. "I'm able to break glass as well. Are you afraid to fight against a high school student? Do you need help?", Karma asked the assassin boldfaced. Koro-sensei tried to help Karma by shouting: "Your opponent is like a wall. Just run against it." Nagisa watched Karma carefully, afraid of what could happen. But the redhead remained calm. He prepared himself for the fight.


	20. Never leave me out

Episode 20: Never leave me out

 _Lay it, lay it down, let me see your hand_

 _Show me what you got_

 _You're always talking, but you're not playing_

 _It doesn't match your face_

Karma didn't attack his opponent, he just blocked the other's attempts. He knew that he had no chance if he would try to attack, as well as he lost once the other would be able to touch him. After a few minutes the assassin tried something else than just fighting with his hands. He used the same gas as the first one. Everyone was shocked. Karma's movement slowed down. The killer grabbed him, but before he was able to harm him Karma used the gas as well. He had taken the one from the man who attacked them earlier. He held his breath as the assassin had used it on him. Karma stepped aside when the assassin hid the floor. Terasaka immediately joined Karma, accompanied by the other boys except Isogai who still carried Karasuma-sensei. Karma sat down out of tiredness. Nagisa walked over to him and helped him up. "Karma-kun, you're bleeding" he said concerned. "It's nothing", the redhead mentioned. His arms did get some scratches and bruises as he blocked the attacks. Nagisa shook his head and pulled Karma over to the next restrooms. Karma followed Nagisa quietly. He went to the sinks and cleaned his wounds. Nagisa sat down at the sideboard between the sinks and watched Karma closely as he washed the blood off his arms. Karma was about to leave again, but Nagisa remained on his place so Karma went back again. He admired himself in the mirror for a second before he faced Nagisa. "What's up, Nagisa-kun?", he asked the other boy calmly. He saw an inner conflict in the blue-haired boy's eyes. As he raised an eyebrow, Nagisa suddenly pulled him closer and pressed Karma's head to his chest, embracing him. "Why did you do this, Karma-kun? Did you even consider what could have happened?", Nagisa demanded, hiding his face in Karma's hair. Karma smiled as he slowly put his arms around Nagisa's waist. "Have you been worried about me, Nagisa?", Karma asked mischievously. Nagisa didn't answer him first but stated "yes" quietly after a few seconds. Karma felt something warm inside his chest, provoked by Nagisa's hug. "How does it feel being taller than me?", he questioned with a grin. He heard Nagisa laugh. He slowly stepped back. "We should probably join the others again", Karma proposed. Nagisa smiled at him and nodded. They both left the restroom and went back to their classmates.

 _Do you feel it, do you feel it?_

 _Do you feel that I can see your soul?_

 _Do you feel it, do you feel it?_

 _Do you feel the beat in your heart?_

 _Some days I'm built of metal, I can't be broken_

 _But not when I'm with you_

The group continued their way. As they reached the next floor Ritsu informed them about the next issue. In order to get to the VIP-area there where two possible ways. One was through the entertainment area and club scene of the hotel while the other one was leading over the terrace. Obviously taking the second one wouldn't cause much attention, but it was barred by a door that could only be opened by the other side. That meant that someone needed to take the first way in order to open the door. Kataoka made the decision that the girls would take the way through the club while the boys and Karasuma-sensei took the other way. Still they wanted a boy to accompany them. They came to the conclusion that Nagisa dressed up as a girl would be the most inconspicuous. Nagisa didn't like the idea at all, but he had no choice. Kayano went outside to steal some clothes from a girl that left them behind. Nagisa went to a storeroom and changed his clothes. He felt uncomfortable wearing a skirt, but he had to admit that he looked like a normal girl. As he left the storeroom, the first thing he saw was Karma's cell phone taking pictures of him. "Stop it", he stated embarrassed. He joined Kataoka, Kayano, Yada, Fuwa, Hayami and Okano and they entered the club.

On their way through the club someone suddenly put a hand on Nagisa's shoulder. He turned around and saw a boy staring at him. "Where are you coming from? Do you fancy a drink? I'm Yuji, and who are you?", Nagisa got asked. He blushed a little and wanted to refuse the invitation, but Kataoka told him to go with the other boy. So he followed Yuji. They went to a table and got drinks. Nagisa tried to ignore the fact that he was literally forced to date the other boy. Still he remained friendly but distanced. After a few minutes he spotted his friends nearby the door. He quickly said Yuji goodbye and left him behind. Kayano informed Nagisa about the current problem: a guard was blocking the door. But Fuwa managed the situation, and they were able to open the gate. Nagisa was relieved as he was able to change back again. Karma teased him about his crossdressing and told him: "If you want to change your gender, Nagisa-kun, I just want you to know that I'll support you…" Nagisa blushed and spoke that he liked himself the way he was and felt comfortable as a boy.

The gate to the VIP-area was blocked by two guards. Terasaka and Yoshida immediately came of with a plan to disable them. As they succeeded, the group found two guns in the guards' pockets and handed them to Chiba and Hayami. They seemed a bit nervous about holding real weapons instead of the guns to kill Koro-sensei. Their way leaded them into a theater. The group separated and looked for hiding places. Nagisa hid himself behind a chair. He glanced over to Karma. He was glad that he wasn't infected and by his side fighting. The whole group held their breath as they noticed that they weren't alone.


	21. A distant echo

Episode 21: A distant echo

 _Just for a minute_

 _The silver forked sky_

 _Lifts you up like a star_

 _That I will follow_

 _And now it's found us_

 _Like I have found you_

 _I don't want to run;_

 _Just overwhelm me_

They were trapped. Nagisa pressed himself against the chair that hid him from the assassin's view. He tried not to consider too much about the situation they got in. He didn't want to panic himself. He liked theaters. The comfortable chairs and the calm darkness. He remembered the last time he went to a theater. It was about a year ago with his former class. They went to see a play from an American writer, but Nagisa didn't remember his name. He just rethought the inner peace he felt sitting there for a minute, in absolute silence and isolated from the outside world. Until Karma showed up and sat down beside him. He kept talking nearly the whole time. Nagisa was annoyed first but ended up being very entertained. Karma resynchronized the whole play spontaneously, whispering into Nagisa's ear. He really had to concentrate on not laughing too loud. Nagisa really wished he cloud time-travel back to that evening. Right now, he was concentrated on not breathing too loud, so the assassin wasn't able to find out his location.

Koro-sensei started giving the class advices, and they followed his instructions. Suddenly they all had changed places in order to confuse their opponent. Hayami and Chiba managed to knock him out. Karma was glad that their teacher's plan worked. He came closer to Nagisa as he quietly asked the other boy: "Do you remember the last time we've been to a theater?" He saw the blue-haired boy's grin as his own mood improved as well. The group continued their way to the top. Nagisa noticed Terasaka heavily breathing. He touched his forehead for a second as the tall teen stepped back. But he already figured out what was happening. "You're infected, aren't you?", he asked Terasaka. He pulled him aside. "I'm fine, no need to worry. I can't back out now. I need to help them", he said. Nagisa was concerned. Maybe someone else of their group was infected as well. Probably Kayano, or Karma… His thoughts got distracted by Ritsu informing the class that they reached the last floor and the room where the signal led her to.

 _I want to see you_

 _As you are now_

 _Every single day_

 _That I am living_

 _Painted in flames_

 _All peeling thunder;_

 _Be the lightning in me_

 _That strikes relentless_

They entered the room quietly. Everyone was nervous, still managed to make no noise. At the end of the room, they found an armchair. On the table there was a remote control. Karasuma-sensei who already got strong enough aimed on it this one of the guns, ready to shoot at an arm grabbing it. Beside the chair there was a suitcase with a small package adhered to it. Obviously a bomb. Suddenly the person sitting in the armchair threw a handful of other remotes up into the air. As they fell back on the ground, the person turned around. It was a tall man, they all have already seen him before: Takaoka. His eyes stared at the group with an insane expression. "You're bad children", he spoke, "that's not what your father told you to do. Let's go up on the roof. Or you can say goodbye to your friends." They had no choice but to follow him. Karma kept his gaze on Nagisa. He seemed scared, as well as the rest of the group. Karma understood it. He was scared as well. As they had reached the roof, Takaoka revealed the two aspects of his plan: he wanted to kill Koro-sensei by endangering Kayano, and he wanted revenge. He wanted to take revenge on Nagisa. Karma stepped forward and told their former teacher: "oh, that's the case! You did all this only to get Nagisa? I'm sure you'd have more fun against me". Nagisa's eyes enlarged as he heard Karma's words. Was Karma actually trying to sacrifice himself in order to save him? Terasaka stepped beside Karma and spoke "What an idiot you are. It was you who made the rules and still you lost against Nagisa". Takaoka cut him short: "Don't forget who has your classmates' lives in his hands!" He grinned madly as he added: "So Nagisa, come join me and go up on the helicopter base. Kayano grabbed Nagisa's arm as she shouted: "Nagisa you can't go with him, by no means!" But Nagisa ignored her words as he pulled away his arm. He stepped forward. "I don't want to. But I have to…" He handed her Koro-sensei. He passed his classmates, looking at Karma. There was something in the redhead's eyes that sent shivers down his spine. It was like he literally said _please don't do that_ without using any words. Takaoka's shouts made him move faster. He climbed up the helideck. In the middle of the deck there was a knife lying on the ground. Nagisa stopped a few steps away from it. Takaoka raised his arm holding the remote and pressed the button. The bridges between the base and the rest of the roof exploded. Now Nagisa had no way out. Takaoka spoke: "You certainly know what I want. A revanche for the last time". Nagisa responded: "I'm not here to fight". The man told him: "I know. And I don't want it to be over too soon. Before we fight, you need to do something else. Apologize." Nagisa stared at him, like the rest of the group did too, unsure of what he meant. "On your knees. Apologize honestly for what you did". Nagisa followed his wish. He didn't want to upset him. The risk for his classmates was too high. Sugino. Kanzaki. Terasaka. They had to get well again. He bent his head, his face touching the ground. "I attacked you in an unfair way because I'm too weak to fight otherwise. I'm sorry." Takaoka didn't seem satisfied yet. He walked over and put hi shoe an Nagisa's head, pressing him on the floor. "I'm honestly sorry", he repeated.

Karma felt a burning rage rising inside him. He couldn't sand seeing Nagisa like that. But he couldn't do anything to help him. He had to wait for what would happen. He had faith in Nagisa, but was unsure about what Takaoka would be doing. His hand clenched to a fist. Takaoka laughed as he walked back to get the suitcase. He kept talking about how funny the virus' victims would look like without getting the antidote. While saying: "you definitely want to see this, Nagisa" he threw the suitcase up in the air. Nagisa fell back on his knees as the suitcase exploded. Takaoka busted into laughing. Nagisa felt like something just hid his stomach and now he was unable to breathe. He turned his head and looked at Terasaka who simply stared at him. Nagisa felt devastated. He couldn't stand his opponent's madness anymore. It was time for his own. He reached to the ground. His fingers felt the cold iron. He grabbed the knife tightly. As Takaoka saw his hand around the knife, he stopped laughing. Nagisa was heavily breathing. His hands were shaking, and his mind got empty. As Karma noticed what was going on, he felt kind of the same. Only his head was filled with concern. Not again, he told himself. He won't lose Nagisa again. He felt a rush in his veins as he heard Nagisa's quiet voice: "I…I'll kill you!"


	22. I should've seen it long before

Episode 22: I should've seen it long before

 _And if I told you how this story ends_

 _Would you change a step you take?_

 _And if I could relive all of my days_

 _I'd live them all the same_

Nagisa was shaking, the knife in his hand was scratching over the ground, creating a metallic rabble. He finally found the power to get up. He glanced at the broken fragments of the glass bottles that included the antidote. He lifted his look and stared at the man in front of him. "How could you?", he started but his opponent's laugh interrupted him. Nagisa grinded his teeth as he got more and more determined. Suddenly he got hid by something. He noticed that it was Terasaka's taser. He had thrown it over on the helicopter base. "Come back down here, Nagisa", the boy shouted, "rethink the situation. It's still murder. Do you really want to devote yourself to your anger?" Nagisa let his gaze scan his classmates. Terasaka looked desperate, Kayano too. Karma. Nagisa stopped for a second and rested his look on Karma. He has never seen him like this before. The redhead's eyes begged him to come back. Nagisa actually thought about reconsidering it all for a moment. But then he heard Takaoka's voice and turned around. He picked up the taser and put it on his belt. "Seems like you prefer the knife", the man spoke. Karma's fingers clinched the handrail that kept him from the chasm between the roof and the helideck as Nagisa stepped forward. Takaoka pulled out three small glass bottles. "Looks like I found some more. Come and get them", he said with a mad grin. Nagisa prepared himself for the fight.

An image shortly passed his mind. "Come and get them". Nagisa was on his way home from school. Karma accompanied him. They had nearly reached Nagisa's home. The blue-haired boy out some bracelets out of his pocket. As Karma spotted them, he asked with a big grin: "Oh Nagisa, did you make friendship bracelets? For me?" Nagisa blushed a little and shook his head. "My mum bought me these. She wants me to wear a lot of jewelry, but I don't like them, they're annoying. So I take them off for school", Nagisa explained shyly. Karma raised an eyebrow as he continued bugging the other boy: "Wow, I didn't know you were such a rebel, I'm impressed." He quickly grabbed the bracelets to take a closer look. Nagisa waited a few seconds before he asked: "Would you give them back, please?" A mischievous grin took over Karma's face. "Come and get them", he said playfully. Nagisa sighed as he stepped towards the redhead. He tried getting his bracelets back, reaching out his hand, without much effort in his attempt. Karma stuck out his tongue and held the jewelry up over his head. Nagisa knew he had no chance. Karma was taller and stronger than him. Still he tried it. Karma stepped back and stumbled over a rock. As he fell, he tried to remain on his feet by reaching out for Nagisa. But it ended I both of them falling on the ground. They lay on their backs side by side on a cloudy afternoon beside an empty road, looking up to the sky, both laughing. After they calmed down a little, Karma reached out his hand with the bracelets. Nagisa turned his hand. He gratefully took the jewelry and put it on. Karma turned his head as well and watched the blue-haired boy. Nagisa stared back at Karma again. He saw the green spots in his goldish eyes and the streaks of red hair falling over them a little. He felt something for the first time. He always thought of his emotions of working like a vessel that got filled over the time when he became friend with someone. But right now, that same vessel, that has always felt completely filled around Karma, seemed to be overflowed. Karma had crossed a borderline that separated friendship from something beyond friendship. Nagisa wasn't sure about what it meant yet, but it was the first time he thought about that. It was the first time he felt something new, something exciting, something that parted Karma from his other friends.

Nagisa tried to concentrate. He had no idea why that image went through his mind in that moment. He walked up to Takaoka who greeted him with a kick in his stomach. Nagisa got tossed back and hit the ground hardly. As he stood up, he got beaten again. He spit out a few drops of blood and fell on his knees. He heard the whispers of his classmates. Kayano begged Karasuma-sensei to do something, but he answered that he couldn't and told them to wait. Terasaka seemed to share his point of view. Karma turned around angrily. "Are you out of your mind?", he asked the other boy. He couldn't stand seeing Nagisa getting beaten up. Terasaka lifted his gaze and grinned at the redhead. "If you had joined the training more often, you would know that Nagisa still knows some tricks", he told him. They watched Nagisa getting up again. He stepped towards his opponent again with a confident facial expression and a little smile. As he nearly reached Takaoka, he raised the arm holding the knife and dropped it. Takaoka's eyes followed it. In that moment Nagisa pulled out the taser and hit his opponent with it. Takaoka stumbled backwards on his knees. Nagisa pressed the taser against his throat. Karma couldn't believe his eyes, like the rest of the group. Nagisa was breathing slowly. He stared into Takaoka's eyes. He smiled as blood was running out of the corner of his mouth. He pressed the button and his opponent dropped onto the ground.

 _That all we are_

 _Is a light into the darkness_

 _And all we are_

 _Is time that's counting down_

 _And all we are_

 _Is falling through the spaces in between_

 _Endless flight_

 _A lifetime in repeat_

Karma was the first to get to Nagisa. He ran over to the blue-haired boy and pulled him into a passionate hug. Nagisa oppressed a tear as he let his head fall against the redhead's chest. They got interrupted too soon by Kayano joining them. She quickly embraced Nagisa who didn't even hug her back. He kept his eyes on Karma. Even Koro-sensei congratulated him. He stared at his feet. "The antidote won't be enough", he spoke. His thoughts got interrupted by a laugh. He turned and saw the three assassins in front of him. "You don't need an antidote", the fist one said. He explained about not following Takaoka's orders and poisoning the class only with something harmless. Everyone was released. Karasuma-sensei ordered a helicopter to pick them up, and Ritsu informed Bitch-sensei. Nagisa sat down in the helicopter between Yada and Kayano. No one spoke a single word, everyone was too exhausted to talk. They were glad to tell the rest of the class that everything would be alright.

As Nagisa went back to the hotel room, he couldn't even keep his eyes open the whole time. Karma walked beside him, watching him closely. He opened the door, and a second after Nagisa entered the room, reached his bed and fell on it. Karma smiled. He closed the door and put on the lights. He heard a complaining sight from the blue-haired boy. He went over to Nagisa's bed. "Come on, Nagisa. At least wash off the blood from your face and get into clean clothes", he said. Nagisa sighted again but got up and walked over to the bathroom. Karma got changed as well and walked over to the bathroom. He knocked at the door carefully. He got no response, and he slowly opened the door. Nagisa was wearing his pajamas and stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection without moving. Karma considered a moment, then he grabbed a towel and held it in the sink. He softly pushed Nagisa's shoulder to make him turn around. Nagisa reacted and faced the redhead. Karma took Nagisa's chin and tilt up his head a little. He wiped off the blood from his face, trying to be as careful as possible. Nagisa just stared at him the whole time. As Karma was finished, he left the bathroom and went straight to bed. Nagisa followed him out of the bathroom and turned off the light. He walked over to his own bed. As he laid down, he heard Karma's voice: "Nagisa…are you okay?" Nagisa closed his eyes. He didn't even know if he was. "I guess so", he responded. Karma waited a few seconds before he added: "If you need anything, feel free to wake me up". Nagisa answered: "No thank you, Karma. I already made the mistake once or twice waking you up before you woke up yourself, and I don't need that again." They both laughed. The first time Nagisa woke up Karma he ended up at the floor, the second time he got yelled at. Nagisa smiled a he said: "Good night, Karma-kun". Karma responded: "Sleep well, Nagisa-kun." After closing his eyes once, he fell asleep.

He woke up later that night as he heard Nagisa screaming in his sleep. He quickly left his bed and rushed over to Nagisa. The blue-haired boy seemed to be still asleep but his whole body was shaking, and tears ran over his cheeks as he gasped for air. Karma shouted the other's name and grabbed his shoulders. Nagisa slowly opened his eyes. His body got calm, and he sat up in his bed. He stared at Karma with a confused gaze. Karma sat down at the edge of the bed and embraced Nagisa who seemed to calm down more and more. He lowered his head on Nagisa's shoulder and held him tightly. As they separated a minute or so later, Karma stroked over Nagisa's cheek to wipe away his tears. "What's up, Nagisa?", he asked quietly. Nagisa shrugged his shoulders and lowered his gaze. "I'm not sure", he answered, "I just had a nightmare. And I'm a little…overwhelmed by everything that happened today." Karma understood him quite well. He went through a lot of things lately. The failed assassination, the fight against Takaoka, the pressure of being not good enough or too feminine, his mother's expectations, and his inner conflicts. It was too much to carry for a fragile teen like him. Karma put his hand on Nagisa's. "It will all be okay. Probably not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but I'll make sure that everything will be alright. I promise.", the redhead spoke with a slightly trembling voice. Nagisa smiled. He lent his head on Karma's shoulder. "Thank you, Karma", he said calmly. He seemed to have calmed down quite fast. Karma yawned. "What time is it?", he questioned. Nagisa looked at his phone, taking his head of Karma's shoulder. "03:40", he responded. Karma let himself fall back on Nagisa's bed and yawned again. Nagisa laid down beside him. "Maybe we should really sleep now.", the blue-haired boy mentioned. He didn't seem to mind about Karma lying in his bed as well. Karma was glad about that. Now that he had experienced the feeling of losing Nagisa, he wanted to be around him even more. He closed his eyes again and fell asleep as fast as the last time.

Nagisa woke up and looked at his phone to check the time. It was 15:27. He put his phone away again and turned around. He wasn't tired anymore but wanted to stay in bed just a little longer. As he turned he face Karma who was still asleep. He watched his face closely. He stared at his red hair falling into his face, and the dark eyelashes that moved a little every time Karma's eyes moved behind his eyelids. He felt a tender knock in his chest. The feeling of someone crossing his borderlines. Nagisa felt like Karma has always lived close to that border, but now he seemed to walk along the line. He didn't stress himself about that. He promised to himself that he would never try to oppress his emotions a long time ago, the first time he looked at Karma and felt his emotions overflowing. Suddenly his phone rang. He answered the call, still Karma had heard the sound and yawned. "Hello?", Nagisa tried to say very quietly. "Nagisa? How are you?", he heard Kayano's voice. "I'm alright", he responded as he saw Karma opening his eyes. "I'm glad to hear that", Kayano kept talking, "a lot of us are in the restaurant right now, I thought that probably you're hungry". Nagisa couldn't remember the last time he ate something. He sat up and said: "I'll be joining you soon". He put away his phone and got up. Karma yawned and sat up as well. "What time is it?", he asked. Nagisa answered and went into the bathroom. As he came back, Karma already changed his clothes and sat there waiting for him. "I hope you think about food as well right now", he spoke. Nagisa grinned, and they left the room to join their friends.

After eating something, the whole class went to the beach. The government sent a huge ship in which they imprisoned Koro-sensei. It was about time that he changed back to his usual body form again. But the ship exploded, and a second later Koro-sensei joined them. He was quite sad about missing so much time of their vacation, since they were leaving the next morning. The class spent the rest of the day at the beach and went back to their rooms around midnight. Karma wasn't tired at all. He convinced Nagisa to watch a movie. The blue-haired boy fell asleep half through it, resting his head on Karma's shoulder. As the movie was over, Karma had to go to the bathroom, what forced his to wake up Nagisa. As he returned, Nagisa was still sitting on Karma's bed. He seemed to have decided to just stay there. Both were used to sharing beds with each other, and they did it the last night as well. Karma smiled and turned off the lights. He walked over to his bed through the darkness and crawled under the sheets. He still had that smile on his face as he fell asleep.


	23. you've known it the whole time

Episode 23: you've known it the whole time

 _In a few weeks, I will get time to realise_

 _It's right before my eyes_

 _And I can take it if it's what I want to do_

 _I am leaving and this is starting to feel like_

 _It's right before my eyes_

 _And I can taste it, it's my sweet beginning_

Karma woke up to the sound of his phone. He noticed that someone was trying to call him and picked up the call. "What?", he just yawned. "Sounds like someone's still tired", the other person said. Karma recognized the voice. "Nakamura?", he asked. "Great guess. Where are you and Nagisa? We agreed on meeting at one at the beach.", Nakamura informed him. Karma yawned again. "We'll be there soon", he spoke as he was about to end the call. Still Nakamura continued talking. "Soon? What, are you busy right now or something", she said with a mischievous voice. Karma didn't answer, he pressed the button to end the call. As Karma turned around again, he faced Nagisa who was still asleep. Karma's heart jumped against his ribs. He nearly forgot that Nagisa slept in his bed too. His bangs were covering his eyes, but he seemed to be asleep. Karma poked Nagisa's carefully in order to wake him. But the blue-haired boy didn't wake up. Karma sighted and got up. He went to the bathroom and took a shower. As he came back, Nagisa still lay on the bed. Karma leant over Nagisa and shook his head. Since he just washed his hair, it was still wet and little drops of water fell on Nagisa's cheeks. The small teen blinked. "Karma", he sighted quietly. "Rise and shine, Nagisa-kun. We had an appointment with the class." Nagisa rolled to the side and fell out of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and slowly got up. After a few minutes he was ready to leave.

The whole class met at the beach. Koro-sensei had told them that he prepared something interesting for their last day on the island. He wanted them to do a test of courage. For the dare, they had to par up, one girl and one boy, and walk through a dark cave. Nagisa and Kayano were the first ones. As they entered the dark cave, Kayano asked him: "How are you, Nagisa-kun?". "I'm fine, Kayano-san, thanks. How are you?", Nagisa spoke. "I'm good, thanks. Did…did you have nightmares about that night? Because I do", Kayano continued. Nagisa remained quiet for a minute because Koro-sensei showed up and tried to scare them with some horror stories. But none of the both of them really cared. "I did have a nightmare the night before", Nagisa admitted. Kayano looked at him as they had nearly reached the exit of the cave. She grabbed his arm and forced him to stop. "You can talk to me, Nagisa.", she added. Nagisa lifted his gaze and returned her stare. Kayano blushed and let go of his arm. They left the cave without saying a word.

Karma paired up with Okuda. He kept his way through the cave, trying to leave again as soon as possible. "You thought it was alarming that he wasn't scared?", Okuda asked him. "Yes", Karma admitted, "that really scared me seeing Nagisa-kun like that. I'm not talking about the fight, I mean the way he behaved after it. He wasn't frightened at all. I would win a fight against him, but that's irrelevant for an assassin. I felt that it is the scariest not having any fear." Okuda glanced at the redhead as she asked: "You care a lot about him, don't you?" Karma lowered his gaze. "I mean. You care about him more than about anyone else, you…", Okuda continued but got interrupted by Karma: "Of course I care about Nagisa, he's my best friend." Okuda looked at him skeptically. But before she was able to add something else, they got interrupted by Koro-sensei as well.

After everyone has left the cave, Koro-sensei was emotionally exhausted. He admitted his plans about pairing them off. But they got distracted by Bitch-sensei and Karasuma leaving the cave. The blonde assassin was embracing Karasuma-sensei's arm really tight and tried to catch his attention by talking about different horror stories from all around the world. Later in the afternoon she inducted the students about falling for Karasuma. Since they had nothing better to do, they agreed on helping her. The girls dressed her up, and the boys prepared a dinner. In the evening, everyone was excited to find out if their plan worked.

 _Maybe next year, I'll have no time_

 _To think about the questions to address_

 _Am I the one to try to stop the fire?_

 _I wouldn't test you, I'm not the best you could have obtained_

 _Why try anything? I will get there_

 _Just remember, I know_

It was the last day before returning to school. Nagisa sat in a restaurant with his father. He hasn't seen him often lately, so he was glad to meet him. They were talking about irrelevant stuff first, then his dad changed the topic. "How's school?", he asked. Nagisa continued eating as he talked: "It's fine, actually. My classmates are quite nice, and the teacher's really entertaining." He was glad that his father didn't ask him closer about school, but he went on: "And about your friends? Is everything alright?" Nagisa stared at his plate as he answered: "Sure. Kayano and Sugino are really cool, but we don't hang out that often but to study" He kind of hoped that his father wouldn't ask him more about relationships, but he did: "And is there anyone who's… nice but not just as a friend?" Nagisa blushed a little. "Actually, I'm not sure yet. Probably." "And your mother? Is she still that strict?", his father questioned, ignoring the previous theme. "It's better", Nagisa responded. As they left the restaurant, his phone informed him about receiving a text message. It was from Isogai: _Hey guys, the octopus asked me to tell you about the summer festival at the station, starting at 19:00. I recommend you to come bc he added something about your grades. See you there_

Karma was glad that the octopus convinced him to come. Most of his classmates were here, and the food smelled deliciously. He met Chiba and Hayami who looked quite sad because they were banned from the shooting games. Kanzaki and Kataoka were eating sweets and Okajima took a lot of pictures. He spotted Nagisa and Kayano talking to Koro-sensei and decided to join them. After a few minutes Koro-sensei determined to get some food, and Kayano joined Kanzaki and Kataoka. Karma got something to drink for himself and Nagisa. They sat down at the meadow, waiting for the firework to start. "I met my father today", Nagisa spoke just to start talking. Karma smiled as him. "That's great to hear, Nagisa-kun. How is he?", he responded. "Quite well", Nagisa told him, "WE were talking a little about stuff, you know. School. Friends. Relationships." Karma ignored the last parts and questioned: "What exactly did you tell him about school? That we have to manage writing good grades beside trying to assassinate an octopus who wants to destroy the world and also is our teacher?" They both started laughing. "Well, I left out he part about the octopus", Nagisa said with a grin. They got interrupted by the first firework exploding at the night sky.


	24. vanish with the sunlight's spark

Episode 24: vanish with the sunlight's spark

 _Something's wrong when you regret_

 _Things that haven't happened yet_

 _But it's a glorious day when morning comes_

 _Without that feeling of alarm_

Everyone was in school earlier that day. Kayano had texted the whole class about a special meeting. She revealed her plan for an assassination: She wanted to create s huge, explosive pudding. It sounded like a really weird plan, but she even managed to get support from the government. She calculated everything and made a lot of experiments. Everyone was impressed about her work and the effort she put in it. They managed to get rid of Koro-sensei and sent the entire day preparing the pudding. In the evening, everything was prepared and Kayano sat down at the hill to admire her work. Karma joined her. "Great work, Kayano-san", he said, "that plan's really cool. Kayano turned and looked up to the redhead: "Thank you, Karma-kun. You know, I've always wanted to prepare such a huge pudding. Thanks to Karasuma-sensei it worked. Once I'm determined to a plan, I make sure it will work out." She noticed Nagisa standing in the background and watching them. She smiled at him and beckoned him over.

The next day, the pudding was finished. Kayano was really proud of her work. As Koro-sensei spotted the pudding, his eyes widened, and the color of his face changed. Once Kayano told him that the pudding was for him, he started to thank her over and over again before getting two shovels and starting to eat. Everyone went back to the building to watch the explosion from a distance. Isogai informed Kayano, and she followed her classmates. Takebayashi sat in front of his laptop, watching the scene and waiting for the right moment to let his self-made bomb explore. Kayano slowly realized that her work was about to be destroyed. Suddenly she interdicted Takebayashi to detonate the bomb. She became too attached to her work and now she was unable to destroy it. Most students just shook their heads with a smile on their faces. A few minutes later Koro-sensei entered the room and informed them that the plan wouldn't have worked anyway. He was able to smell the plastic in the bomb and decided to disarm it before he continued eating again. Takebayashi was a little disappointed, but the rest of the class was just happy about eating some pudding as well.

 _So rise and shine_

 _Now's the time to be alive_

 _To stay awake and be with me a while_

 _And smile_

In the afternoon, the class was playing cops and robbers during their sports lesson. Koro-sensei and Karasuma sensei were the cops while the students and Bitch-sensei had to run away and hide. The octopus was protecting the prisoners, and Karasuma tried to catch the robbers. They students had two minutes to run away into the forest. After Karasuma-sensei started chasing them, the game took twenty minutes. Within the first minutes he was able to catch Chiba, Hayami, Okajima and Fuwa.

Nagisa, Kayano, Karma and Sugino ran over a glade as Ritsu told them that the game had started. "Maybe it's better if we split up", Sugino suggested. He headed to the left, and Kayano cut a corner to the right. Karma and Nagisa continued their way. As they reached the forest again, Karma heard a scream of someone being caught. He looked around and spotted a gap between two huge rocks aside him. He heard another shout, and quickly grabbed Nagisa to drag him to the gap. The gap was only around a meter wide. Karma pushed Nagisa against one rock and stood at the opposite side. He knew that Nagisa tended to scream when something surprised him, so he covered his mouth with his hand. They rested in the darkness as Karasuma passed beside the rocks to chase another student. Karma stared into Nagisa's eyes, still keeping his hand on the blue-haired boy's mouth. He noticed the little silver sparkles in them, and the way the stared back at Karma. The redhead lowered his gaze and slowly removed his hand from Nagisa's face. Damn it, he thought. Ever since he realized his feelings, he accepted them but still wanted them to be not too obvious. He heard Ritsu from inside his pocket informing the students that the game was over. He left the gap, and went back to the building aside Nagisa.

After they returned, Isogai told them about something he recently read: A huge person with a yellow face was seen stalking women. The students confronted Koro-sensei, but he denied it even though they found evidence literally everywhere. The class was sure that someone wanted to imitate their teacher and make it look like it was him. A few students agreed on meeting on the evening to find out who the real suspect was. Fuwa did some research and informed her classmates. She met with Kayano, Nagisa and Terasaka at the meeting point. Karma joined them a little too late. He apologized for his lateness and they focused on the mission again. The teens hid behind a truck as they spotted the octopus hiding in the garden. He seemed to try to prove his innocence as well. As another man arrived and stole some clothing, Koro-sensei stopped him. It turned out to be one of the government's employees who was helping Karasuma. His questioning got interrupted by Shiro and Itona. Nagisa turned to face Karma who looked back at him with a confused gaze. No one knew what would be happening next.


	25. peace in my soul

Episode 25: peace in my soul

 _I'm a wandering soul_

 _I got no place of my own_

 _Well, I got nothing to give_

 _Well, I got nothing to show for it_

Seeing Itona enraged like that really scared the students. They knew that they were unable to help their teacher. The five of them took Shiro to task while Ritsu informed the other students about what was going on. The guardian didn't care about their words and told them that he was going to abandon Itona if he couldn't win against the octopus. In the same moment Koro-sensei abrogate the small boy, and caught him as he fainted. Shiro left saying that the tentacles would kill Itona anyway in a few days. Koro-sensei seemed to be quite tired after the fight. He blacked out as well. The moment he hid the ground Itona got up and ran away. Karma watched him leave. He sat down at the ground and asked Ritsu to inform their classmates about where they were going to meet. Terasaka decided to scan the surroundings for more government employees, and Kayano and Fuwa went around the building look out for traps. Nagisa and Karma decided to stay with Koro-sensei who was still laying on the ground, unconscious. Nagisa sat down beside the redhead. After a few moments Nagisa decided to break the silence. "What did you think about the cops and robbers game?", he asked Karma who grinned at him. "I thought it was quite interesting to be the one who has to run and hide once", he responded, "And Karasuma-sensei was really good at it." "How many of us did he catch again?", Nagisa continued, and Karma answered: "First he caught Chiba, Okajima, Sugaya, Hayami and Fuwa, but Okajima corrupted the octopus with a picture of a girl in her swimsuit. Later Karasuma-sensei caught Bitch-sensei, Takebayashi, Hara, Yada and Kimura, but our classmates escaped as well after Yada told Koro-sensei a heart-wrecking story about her brother." "Karasuma-sensei's really good.", Nagisa spoke. "Luckily for us you found that cave", the blue-haired boy added. Before Karma was able to say anything, Kayano and Fuwa returned, accompanied by a few other students.

 _And I got something to say, my friends_

 _I will never lay down without a fight_

 _And when I die, it will be the day_

 _When every one of my wrongs will be made right_

The group finally found Itona, hiding in an old factory building. It was obvious how tortured he was by his tentacles, still he insisted on a fight against Koro-sensei. Before they were able to calm his down, Shiro arrived accompanied by a few soldiers trying to catch Itona. Even though he didn't want him as a weapon anymore, he was still trying to use him foe experiments. But the class was able to fight back Shiro and saved Itona. He was so fixed on the idea of power that the tentacle cells would be destroying him. The E-class decided to do something. They had to show him other aspects of life that he could focus on. Luckily for Nagisa, it was one of the night his mother was on a business trip, so he was able to stay out all night. The students who decided to stay managed to make up a plan about separating into small groups and spending time with Itona. The students who had to go home earlier or had difficulties reaching their homes because of the night time traffic started hanging out with Itona. Karma and Nagisa both were home alone, so they would be the last ones. Terasaka's group was the first one to go. Muramatsu, Terasaka, Yoshida and Hazama got Itona something to eat and took him to Yoshida who took a ride with him on a bike. Sugino, Isogai and Maehara wanted to take him to a baseball field and play a little game. Sugaya, Mimura and Fuwa planned to take Itona to the cinema. And after Nagisa's and karma's attempt they would all meet again with Koro-sensei. Karma and Nagisa determined to get something to eat as well, but they didn't want to join Muramatsu. Since it was around ten o'clock, most restaurants stopped serving food, but Karma knew a delivery service who had opened all night. They had a few hours until they would meet up with Itona, so they decided to go to Karma's place what was quite close. They ordered pizza and decided to watch a movie. Karma insisted on a horror movie, "because otherwise you'll just fall asleep again, Nagisa-kun". Nagisa wasn't a huge fan of scary movies, but he agreed on watching one. The boys sat down at the couch with their food and some blankets, and Karma chose a movie. Nagisa ignored it most of the time. Still he found himself getting pretty close to Karma whose eyes were glued to the screen. He was glad as the movie was over. It was after midnight now, and they still hadn't decided what they'll do with Itona. Then Karma got up with a plan. "Nagisa, will you be very mad at me if we take Itona to the park at the river?", he asked the blue-haired boy. Nagisa shook his head. Back before the E-class, they used to hang out there quite often. They spent a lot of time down the hills along the river and stared at the city or talked about petty stuff. It was something like their secret place, isolated from the real world. Nagisa knew how beautiful it was to sit there and stare at the night sky above the city. He texted Sugaya to bring Itona there after they left the cinema.

Itona seemed quite surprised yet unimpressed as he met his classmates at the park. The two boys accompanied him down to the river. Itona still looked unsure about why he was here. Karma let himself fall down into the grass. "Look at that sky, Itona-kun!", he spoke, "Have you ever seen such bright stars?" Itona sat down beside him. Nagisa joined them. Karma kept talking about the stars and thee city and the whole universe, and to his surprise Itona simply sat there the whole time and listened to him. After Karma was finished, he took out his phone on put on some music.

 _And I'll be wondering all for all my years_

 _What I become, no one can say_

Itona remained in his position. He looked quite thoughtful. Karma suddenly started singing along quietly. Both Nagisa and Itona stared at him with a confused gaze. Karma grinned as he continued singing.

 _If you're feeling what I'm feeling c'mon_

 _All you soul searching people c'mon_

Nagisa remembered the last time they sat at the river. It was around one and a half years ago. It was their last time at the river, and also the first and last time he heard Karma sing. He felt that certain feeling in his chest like his heart was trying to escape the prison of his ribs. Karma's voice probably wasn't the best, but he managed to convince you that the world was alright. He brought peace by ignoring the real world and entering his own. Nagisa watched Itona smiling a little. He definitely thought Karma was ridiculous, but he felt like the redhead didn't mind. After a few minutes Itona yawned. They decided on going back to the meeting point. Nagisa was thrilled to fid out if their tries influenced Itona, but he saw him smile a little today, so it was certainly worth it.

Arriving at the meeting point, everyone was glad about their plan. After Terasaka talked with Itona again, he felt himself disposed to get rid of the tentacles. Even though he lost his power, he had his life back and was released from the pain. The students were happy about being able to go to sleep now. It was nearly two in the morning when Karma arrived at his apartment. He got quite tired by now, and immediately went to bed. He checked his phone one last time and noticed two new text messages. One was from Nakamura: _Tell me, Karma-kun, were you able to save Itona?_ Karma decided to tell her about t the next time in school. The second message was from Nagisa: _We should definitely hang out at the river again._ Karma smiled as he responded: _Anytime. Sleep well._ He put away his phone and turned off the lights. He remembered the last time they've been at the river. It has been the day he wanted to tell Nagisa about his feelings. But he couldn't. He really planned it, but the day they met he wasn't able to do it. He has had these feelings for some time, but as they sat at the river and he looked at Nagisa, he was unable to tell him. He saw the blue-haired boy in front of him, his hair falling on his face, his laugh making his heart beat faster. He thought that if he told him now, he probably would have lost him. Nagisa could have felt weird around him, and distance himself. And he couldn't stand not being around him. He made him so happy. Even now he still did.


	26. Take me by the hand

Episode 26: Take me by the hand

 _Hold on a minute_

 _I don't want to go outside_

 _I don't want to face my pride_

 _There's a limit to how long I can wait_

 _To how long I can take before I start to show_

As Nagisa entered the classroom a few days later, he couldn't spot Karma, so he decided to join Maehara. He seemed quite depressed about returning to school and the end of the break. They talked a little about what was expecting them the next months. Itona caught their attention by fabricating a small tank. He got bored and frustrated by studying so he decided to create something to assassinate Koro-sensei. The boys were really impressed by his work. After class nearly every guy stayed to watch Itona work on the tank. It worked quite well, and they did a few experiments. But after a few minutes Okajima noticed that the tank with its camera would work for spying on the girls as well as for killing the octopus. It was interesting to see the boys working together on their project. Takebayashi did a few calculations for a new camera, Okajima went to get one. They asked Ritsu to write a program to rectify the camera. Kimura helped Itona by getting the technical pieces he needed. Yoshida wanted to take care of the power unit and Sugaya volunteered to paint the tank. Maehara said he'd create a map of the surroundings. Nagisa and Isogai remained in the background. Neither of them really wanted to join the project, but it was fun to watch the boys working together with a passion like that. The next day Muramatsu brought them breakfast. All the boys who were a part of the project met before school to finish the tank. They tried one last trial that didn't end well. Everyone was disappointed about the failure, but Itona mentioned that failing would be a part of the process. For Okajima's bad luck, Kataoka found out what his real plan was. Karma entered the classroom, asking Nagisa what was going on. The blue-haired boy informed him about their complications. Itona walked over to Karma, asking him: "Hey Karma, I won't join the lessons today. Do you know a good spot to waste time?" Karma responded him and the both of them left the building again. Nagisa watched them leave.

The next day they talked about their names. Kimura was always depressed about his prename. Karma joined the conversation, telling his classmates that he actually liked his name. The octopus was complaining as well. He was sad about Karasuma and Bitch-sensei who still didn't call him Koro-sensei. Yada came up with an idea. She proposed using code names for one day. The class accepted her request. Everyone was making suggestions, and Koro-sensei was drawing the lots. Nagisa got the code name "Gender". He was a little angry about it but accepted his code name. They planned to do a game in the afternoon to hunt down Karasuma-sensei. Nagisa walked over to Karma and asked him about his code name. He got named "Half of middle". Kayano joined them, telling them about being called "Forever 0". Karma tried not to laugh. Kayano didn't seem to be a fan of her code name but had had to accept it. In order to get Karasuma-sensei, the class made up a plan. After agreeing on the sequence, they split up and went into the woods.

 _I've been waiting so, so long_

 _But here we are now_

 _Here we are now_

 _I will judge myself_

 _Guilty of loving you too much_

 _I will smother you just to feel your touch_

 _I will offer you my whole self, not just my best_

Karma walked beside Nagisa through the forest. It was a bright day, and he enjoyed the sunlight. He didn't hurry and chatted with Nagisa about the code names. They agreed on "Womanizing Bastard" (Maehara), "The Darkness of E class" (Hazama), "Adult Game Protagonist" (Chiba), "End of Perversion" (Okajima) and "Pseudo Takaoka" (Terasaka) as being the most creative yet applicable ones. They continued their way to their positions. Both of them totally lost track of the time, and the start signal went off before they reached their positions. Now they needed to hurry in order not to disappoint the team. While Nagisa still tried to figure out which way he needed to go, Karma already started running. He stopped again und turned around to the confused blue-haired boy. "Come on, Nagisa-kun, hurry!", he shouted as he reached out his hand. Nagisa began running as well now and grabbed Karma's hand. He felt his head heating up, but ignored it and continued his way. After a few moments Karma informed him: "You need to head to the right now, behind that rock over there I your assigned spot". Nagisa let go of the redhead's hand as he turned and made his way through the forest. A thought passed his mind about regretting letting go of Karma's hand. A voice interrupted his thoughts. Nakamura shouted at him: "Where have you been, Nagisa-kun? It's almost time!" Nagisa apologized and they started their attack.

After school, Karma walked down to the train station beside Kayano, Sugino and Nagisa. They talked about how well Itona became a part of their class and how his skills could be useful for an assassination. Karma ignored most of the conversation. He was paying attention to either his phone or Nagisa. He knew he had to do something. He promised himself to do something. As Nagisa had taken his hand earlier that day, he felt like getting something he always wanted. He did let go too early.


	27. You're my only compass

Episode 27: You're my only compass

 _If I don't have you with me, I'm alone_

 _You know I never know which way to go_

 _I think I need you with me for all-time_

 _When I need new direction for my mind_

 _You listen to my lectures on the phone_

 _You help me find the treasure in the hole_

 _You'll tell me if I'm acting like a fool_

 _I know that you're not something to lose, now_

Nagisa was excited about meeting his friends this afternoon. The only thing that could possibly make it even more better would have been if Karma joined them as well. But the redhead already had plans with his parents. They were barely in town, so when they were Karma kind of had to do what they wanted him to do. But Nagisa was sure that he would enjoy the afternoon as well without Karma. He sat at a table in a café with Kayano, Maehara, Okajima and Kataoka. They liked the café because it served great tea and because Isogai worked there. Students of their school weren't allowed to have jobs while they were still attending school, but Isogai worked there anyway. His family didn't have much money and he tried to support them too. Even Koro-sensei loved the café. H went there quite often to get some waffles. Nagisa and his friends were having a really good time until Asano and his classmates walked in. The headmaster's son was very aware of the school's rules and told Isogai to join him for a talk. Nagisa and his classmates went outside as well in order to protect their friend. Isogai asked Asano if he could keep it a secret. He was afraid of getting problems again. Asano promised not to tell anyone if the E-class won a bet. They had to beat the A-class at the sport festival to save Isogai form getting suspended.

The next day Isogai informed the class about the bet. He was very depressed by the situation and told his classmates that he didn't want to immolate them at the festival. Karma was the first one to respond: "Don't worry, Isogai-kun. We're on your side and we'll manage to beat the A-class!" The others agreed. Isogai was surprised by the support. Nagisa glanced over to Karma. He was impressed by his engagement. He was someone who everyone of his friends could rely on every time. Kama turned his head and smiled at Nagisa who was grinning back.

 _Could you tell me where to go?_

 _You're always there to help me when I'm down_

 _I'm lucky you've been keeping me around_

 _You're the star I look for every night_

 _When it's dark, you'll stick right by my side_

Everyone worked very hard to prepare for the game. Isogai stayed up all night to figure out some strategies. The whole class was looking forward to the game. The day of the sport festival arrived. Even Karasuma-sensei showed up to support his students. The game against the A-class was rough. They played some unfair tricks, still Isogai's plan worked out. Everyone was surprised to see the E-class win. Asano left the field with a poker face. Still he promised to keep it a secret.

Since Karma's parents left the town again, Karma was able to invite all his classmates over to celebrate their win. It was a Friday, so no one had to think about going to school the next day and cloud stay long. After they ordered pizza and talked for hours, most of the students had left already. Karma let his eyes wander through the living room. Isogai, Okajima, Kayano, Kurahashi, Nagisa, Nakamura, Fuwa, Maehara and Kataoka were still here. Maehara yawned while laying on the couch headfirst. "Guys, I'm bored. Let's do something!", he called. Okajima agreed: "Yeah, great idea. Let's play a game". "Sounds good", Maehara responded, "What about…. Truth or dare?" Nakamura went over to Maehara and threw him off the couch. "Great. Let's do it!", she agreed, "gather 'round, guys!" The students sat down on the carpet in the middle of the living room. "What is going on?", Kayano asked Fuwa who answered her that they were going to play Truth or dare. "Karma, get me an empty bottle", Maehara ordered, "does everyone know how the game works?" His classmates nodded. Karma handed Maehara a bottle and sat down between Okajima and Fuwa, vis-á-vis with Nagisa who sat between Kayano and Kataoka. "Listen, guys", Maehara began, "since our class representative led us to victory today, I think it's only fair to let him start the game", he continued as he handed the bottle to Isogai. The dark-haired boy began and spun the bottle. It pointed at Karma. "Alright Karma, truth or dare?", Isogai asked him. The redhead responded: "I pick…. truth". "Let's start with something easy: Do your parents know about you inviting people over and buying them dinner now and then with their money?", Isogai questioned and most of the teens giggled. "Ehm...no", Karma answered with a grin, "and I'm not planning to tell them". Isogai handed him the bottle, laughing. The redhead twisted it and selected Nakamura who chose truth as well. Karma asked her why she was in E-class. Nakamura lowered her view as she admitted that she once wanted to get more attention from her former classmates and her tries to be recognized ended up in neglecting school and getting bad grades. Most of the group were surprised by her answer. The blond girl grabbed the bottle and spun it. Everyone held their gaze. They knew Nakamura got some bad ideas sometimes. The pick fell on Nagisa. He thought about what to choose. He knew that Nakamura would probably ask him about things he didn't want to talk about (yet). So to anyone's surprise he took dare. Nakamura raised an eyebrow. "Since when are you this brave, Nagisa? Well, let me think… for the next three round you have to hold hands with Kayano-chan!", she revealed. Kayano blushed as the rest of the class started laughing. "I'm sorry, Kayano", Nagisa mentioned as he reached out for her hand. "No problem", the green-haired girl responded as she took Nagisa's hand. He spun the bottle again. Nagisa noticed Karma's gaze. He seemed a little unhappy, at least he wasn't smiling as he stared at Kayano. Nagisa was wondering for a moment before focusing on the bottle again. "Truth or dare?", he asked Maehara who chose dare a well. After some consideration he told Maehara to order another pizza. Maehara grabbed his phone, adding "how could I ever forget about the chances I missed at this game?" and called the restaurant. After he was done he spun the bottle and asked Okajima if he'd chose truth or dare. He took truth, and Maehara asked him: "Since when are you actually a pervert?" The whole group laughed, and Okajima answered that he wasn't sure, probably for a few years now. Okajima's twist landed on Kurahashi who chose truth as well. Okajima asked her: "Do you have a crush on someone in our class?" and she answered with another question: "Do teachers count as a part of our class?", getting everyone to roll their eyes. "By the way, Nagisa and Kayano, you're released from holding hands now", Nakamura mentioned. Nagisa let go of Kayano's hand immediately. He knew that Nakamura had forced him to hold Kayano's hand because she thought that he had a crush on her. Nagisa really liked the green-haired girl, but he had always considered her as a friend. She was his best friend, and she had never been something more. Holding her hand had only confirmed that for him. It was like holding your friend's hand, it didn't cause his stomach to feel like it was filled with butterflies or made his heart beat faster. He focused on Kurahashi again who twisted the bottle. She asked Karma if he chose truth or dare. He answered: "Truth". "I think I like these questions about crushes though- Karma-kun, do you have a crush on someone in our class, teachers included?", Kurahashi asked the redhead. Karma stared at the floor foe a second. The room went silent. Before he glanced back at Kurahashi, Karma looked through the room, and Nagisa felt his gaze for a second. "Well", Karma began, "…maybe". "Maybe doesn't count", Okajima shouted, and Maehara agreed: "This is a yes or no question, Karma!" Luckily for Karma, the doorbell rang, and he got up. It was the food service who delivered the pizza Maehara ordered. After the group got themselves something to eat, they seemed to have forgotten the game. Nagisa saw Karma's release. He went over to talk to him. Karma asked him: "How come you're still here? What about your mother?" "She thinks that I went to Sugino after the game in order to study and stay overnight", the blue-haired boy answered. "Wow, Nagisa-kun, you're really rebellious lately", Karma responded with a grin. Within the next hour, most of the students left as well and went home. It was around two in the morning and Nagisa was the only one left. "So you're sleeping here?", Karma asked Nagisa after Isogai left the apartment. "If it's okay for you?", Nagisa questioned. Karma answered: "of course", and they got ready to go to bed.

After Karma turned off the light, he laid on his back and stared into the darkness of his room. "Nagisa-kun?", he asked the blue-haired boy who yawned to show that he was still awake. "Did you… did you like holding Kayano's hand?", he asked the other boy. He heard Nagisa turning around under the sheets and waited for him to answer. After a few seconds he got a response: "Well… it was just like holding a friend's hand. Because that's what I fell for her: friendship. Is this answering your question?". Karma nodded. He wasn't sure if Nagisa was noticing it, but he didn't really care. Then Nagisa asked him something as well: "When you answered "maybe" to Kurahashi's question, did you mean maybe as you are not sure? ... Or did you mean maybe as you do know but you didn't want to tell?" Karma still stared up to the ceiling as he responded: "maybe". He heard Nagisa laugh a little. Karma closed his eyes. He was glad that Nagisa didn't ask any further questions. He fell asleep quite fast.


	28. say the things you wanna say

Episode 28: say the things you wanna say

 _Lately, I feel like I'm pushing you away_

 _Acting moody for no reason_

 _And even though you know I'm always gonna stay_

 _I've been talking like I'm leaving_

Karma woke up before his alarm could wake him, which barely ever happened. He opened his eyes to find himself staring at Nagisa's shoulder. The blue-haired boy seemed to be still asleep, turned away from him. Karma smiled to himself. He carefully placed his hand on Nagisa's shoulder. The other boy's skin was soft and warm. Karma felt his heart missing a beat as his fingers touched Nagisa's bare skin. The blue-haired boy yawned, and Karma quickly removed his hand. Nagisa turned to lay on his back. "What time is it?", he asked with a tired voice. Karma grabbed his phone. "Half past six", he answered. Nagisa sat up and yawned again. "Do you want to miss school again, Karma-kun?", he questioned. Karma stared back at Nagisa as he responded: "I didn't plan to today." He got up and went to the kitchen.

This day, school was quite unspectacular which happened one in a blue moon. The only topic at the moment was the next exam in two weeks. Koro-sensei was focused on his class succeeding again. After school, the class wanted to try their new parkour training on their way to the train station. Most of the students joined the group. Karma didn't, because his parents came home that afternoon and they were picking him up half way. Okajima and Justice leaded the group. Nagisa really enjoyed the work-out. It was fun taking the way over the rooftops instead of walking through the streets. But they had bad luck that day. As they nearly reached the station and jumped down of a roof, they overlooked an old man on a bicycle. A passant called the ambulance, and Karasuma-sensei and the octopus went there as well together with the class. Everyone apologized for what they've done. The old man turned out to be the leader of an institution to help troubled children. He was very upset that now he was unable to work there for the next two weeks. Koro-sensei negotiated with him and they came to the conclusion that the E-class should work at the institution instead of the leader. This meant that they were unable to study in school for the exams. But the class had no choice.

As Nagisa entered the institution's building the next day beside his classmates, he wasn't sure what to expect. The building was a little decrepit, but most of the children seemed friendly. The class separated into teams, and made different plans on renovating the building, entertaining the children and educating them. Chiba and Ritsu planned a new building, Kayano wanted to organize a play and Yada volunteered to collect books. Nagisa agreed on teaching one of the children. He got paired with Sakura, a girl who dropped out of primary school. She wasn't enthusiastic about Nagisa being her teacher in the beginning, but Nagisa managed to get along with her. She even went to school again and got an A on her maths test. A week had passed, and the class nearly forgot about the exams. Everyone was focused on their current project. For today, Kayano's play premiered. She came up with a story about a princess who got threatened by a dragon. Kayano herself portrait the princess, and she forced Terasaka to play the dragon. Karma played the knight who tried to save the princess. He seemed to have a lot of fun battling Terasaka in front of the excited children. Nagisa sat in the audience as well. He grinned as he watched Terasaka complaining about Karma. At the end of the play, Okuda who played a witch, knocked out he dragon using "magical chloroform", and proved that science was a powerful weapon against the evil. The children loved the play and clapped loudly for Kayano. After the play, Karma walked over to Nagisa, still wearing his knight armor. "Tell me, Nagisa-kun, what do you think? Should I keep that look? I think it suits me", he mentioned with a grin. Nagisa laughed a little as he answered: "Of course, Karma-kun. You look really…impressive wearing an armor." "For you it's still "Sir Karma", peasant", Karma responded, trying to look serious but grinned mischievously. "I am really sorry, your highness", Nagisa added with a smile. They both stared at each other for a second before bursting into laughter. Karma glanced at Nagisa. His laugher made his heart crash against his rips. "Damn it", he thought, "well, why don't I just tell him?"

 _I'm a stormy ocean, but you're steady_

 _And I'm a commotion, but you get me_

 _Too many emotions, but you let me_

 _Let me blossom in the dark_

The two weeks passed quickly, and the class had to take their exams. But the fact that they didn't study wasn't ignorable. Nearly everyone's grade decreased. Nagisa got ranked 54th. He was disappointed, but he knew that this wasn't the end result and that he could get better grades once he studied again. He was worried about his social life though. His mother was really furious for sure. She definitely would stop her business travels and tell him to focus more on school. That means no more school trips or out-of-school plans for assassinations, and no more sleepovers and hanging out with Karma. Nagisa looked for the redhead in the crowd. He had to ask him about his results. Karma really did well that time. He didn't mind not studying for a week or two, and had managed to get placed second behind Asano. The whole class was proud of him, especially Koro-sensei. Nagisa looked at Karma and felt his heart getting a little lighter. Regarding Karma's grades, his mother would allow him to study with the redhead, and Nagisa would be able to still spend time with him which made him a little happier every single time.


	29. Now I wish you would have stayed

Episode 29: Now I wish you would have stayed

 _You been on my mind_

 _I been tryna let it go_

 _I been tryna find_

 _Somethin' as incredible_

 _As you and I_

 _But that's a never_

 _No feeling can compare to you_

 _You just gotta let me know_

Nagisa's thoughts about his mother's reaction turned out to be true. She was furious about the exam results and told him that she would stay at home more instead of going on business trips and that she would focus on his school life even more. Nagisa wasn't surprised about her speech. He listened to her calmly and returned to his room after she finished. He let himself fall on his bed and stared up to the ceiling.

The next day in school, the class planned to do something about Bitch-sensei and Karasuma. Four days ago, it was Bitch-sensei's birthday and they wanted to buy a present which Karasuma-sensei should give to her. Nagisa, Kayano, Karma, Sugino, Kanzaki and Okuda went back to the town during the lunch break to get a present. No one had a good idea of what Irina could like. They stopped at the crosswalk to discuss their ideas. Surprisingly, they met the passant who called the ambulance the day the accident with the social worker happened. It turned out that he was a florist, and suggested to buy a bunch of roses. The group accepted his offer. Nagisa gave him the money, and turned around. He saw Karma holding the roses. They had the same bright color as his hair which was moved by the wind. Karma was smiling at Sugino and started laughing during their conversation. Nagisa felt a sting inside his chest. Karma turned around and handed Nagisa the flowers, asking: "Nagisa-kun, could you hold them for a second?" Nagisa stood there, totally deranged. He stuttered: "S-sure" and took the roses. He was confused by his reactions. What is happening to me, he asked himself, since when am I reacting this weird to normal situations. He stared back at Karma who smiled at him with a sparkle in his eyes. Nagisa tried to focus again. The group walked back to their school building. Sadly, their plan failed. Karasuma-sensei seemed to have no idea of Bitch-sensei's feelings. Irina was deeply disappointed. She left the surroundings without a word but with a mad grin. The class was confused about how they should react.

After school, Nagisa walked down the hill beside Karma. They talked about Bitch-sensei and what upset her this much. As they reached the train station, Karma suggested eating at the sushi restaurant just around the corner. Nagisa had to turn down the offer. "I'd really like to, Karma-kun, but since my grades got worse, my mother is stricter than ever.", Nagisa told the redhead. Karma pitied him. "No problem", he mentioned, "maybe next time". As they got on the train, they didn't speak much until Karma got up and turned to the doors. "See you, Nagisa", he added, and left the train before Nagisa was even able to answer. Nagisa bit his lip. He took out his phone and texted Karma: _See you tomorrow, Karma-kun_ _._ He felt weird. He felt alone sitting in the train, surrounded by a raft of people but without Karma. Why did everything go wrong lately?

 _So I gotta take it slow_

 _You got me so high_

 _Up, up and away we go_

 _Racing to the sky_

 _I'm feeling unfadable_

The next day, the class wondered if Bitch-sensei would return. After Koro-sensei left, they kept talking. No one noticed the florist they met the day before entering the classroom. He revealed that he kidnapped Bitch-sensei, and introduced himself as the assassin called the god of death. In order to get Bitch-sensei back, they had to meet him that evening. Chiba told his classmates what he thought about the plan. He was sure that the god of death wanted to kill Koro-sensei as well and used them as a bait. Still they had no chance but to follow his orders. Nagisa was concerned about if his mother allowed him staying out in the evening. But today, he didn't had to worry about that. His mother texted him that she would stay overnight at the hospital because her cousin had an operation. So Nagisa met his classmates at the meeting point. But their plan failed. The god of death was working together with Bitch-sensei and foiled their plan about rescuing her. He caught everyone who tried to escape and beat them up. After useless attempts to run away, every student was handcuffed and imprisoned. Karma sat down beside Nagisa who was leaning against the wall. "Nagisa, are you okay?", he asked the blue-haired boy. Nagisa seemed tired and exhausted. He answered: "I'm alright. What about you?" Karma moved closer to Nagisa. "I'm okay", he said calmly. "Don't worry. I'm sure Karasuma-sensei and the octopus will free us, Bitch-sensei will come back, and we'll defeat the god of death." "You really think so?", Nagisa questioned, lowering his gaze. "Yes", Karma responded, "hey, don't fall asleep". "I'm tired", Nagisa yawned and placed his head on Karma's shoulder for a second. Karma smiled a little. He leaned his head against Nagisa's. The blue-haired boy smiled as well. He felt better now. Sadly, Karma removed his head and got up. Nagisa watched him walking over to the end of the cell and speaking to the god of death. "I don't know how you want to defeat Koro-sensei, but are you sure it will work?", he asked him. Kayano sat down beside Nagisa. "Are you feeling better?", she asked him quietly. Nagisa faced her: "yes, and you? Are you alright?" Kayano answered: "I'm fine, thanks. Do you think we'll get out of here?" Nagisa looked over to Karma again. "I'm sure we will, don't worry", he spoke. The god of death stared at his phone. He spotted someone coming closer. Bitch-sensei told him: "That's Karasuma". The students heard her words. Karma turned around and smiled at Nagisa and Kayano. Nagisa felt released. He was sure that the world would be okay again. Karasuma's try to help and Karma's smile made him feel so much better.


	30. before my mind begins to slip

Episode 30: before my mind begins to slip

 _Quick, before my mind begins to fade_

 _Ask the moon to chase the day away_

 _Quick, before my eyes begin to phase_

 _Allow your heart to chase the dark away_

Karma's smile made Nagisa almost forget the fact that they were imprisoned by an assassin called "god of death", or that he, Karma, his friends and classmates were wearing bombs around their necks. The blue-haired boy got distracted by Kayano: "Nagisa, I don't want to die in here". Nagisa stared at her. Kayano had tears in her eyes, and her voice was trembling. "You won't, Kayano-san", Nagisa responded, "everything will be alright. Just stay calm, and don't freak out". Kayano sighted. Kanzaki joined them and moved close to Kayano. "I'm sorry I can't hug you right now", she whispered, causing Kayano to smile a little despite her tears. Karma walked over to Nagisa again. He noticed that the small teen was still desperate, but before he could do anything to comfort him, Koro-sensei crashed into the cell.

The god of death had managed to imprison the octopus as well, and was currently fighting against Karasuma-sensei, Koro-sensei quickly checked his students' injuries, and monitored the cell. "We have to do something", the teacher stated, "we need to do something to deactivate the bombs". Kayano started to cry again. Okuda's face turned pale. Only Itona remained calm. He joined Koro-sensei and agreed. "I need someone to help me", he told his classmates, "I have to get granular on the bombs". No one moved, until Nakamura stepped forward. "If you accidentally activate it, I'll kill you", she said as she let Itona examine her new necklace. Meanwhile Mimura took care of the cameras. He found out that there was a blind spot they didn't record. Koro-sensei concentrated on the god of death and Karasuma. They seemed to still be fighting, so the god of death wasn't watching the cameras. Itona finished his observations a few minutes later. "They are built very easily and can only be activated with a remote control", he spoke, "so removing them violently shouldn't be a problem." The class stared at him. "Are… are you sure?", Terasaka asked. "I'm quite sure", Itona answered. "And what means quite sure?", Maehara inquired. Itona responded: "I'd say… 80%". No one said a word until Takebayashi stated: "It's not a bad chance". "Should we try it?", Itona questioned. Isogai placed his hand on Itona's shoulder and spoke: "I think we have no choice".

The cell was filled with silence. Nagisa stared up to the ceiling. They had to do something. He appreciated Karasuma's skills, but they couldn't rely on that. He got up. "I'll do it", he said, "If you want to try it, Itona-kun". His classmates stared at him in astonishment. He heard Karma calling out his name as he stepped towards Itona. He nodded. "Takebayashi, I need all pf your technical equipment. And Terasaka,… will you help me? I'm probably not strong enough." Terasaka looked at Itona with a determined expression. Koro-sensei joined them. "I'll try to protect you, just in case there will be an explosion", he added. "I need one more hand to help me", Itona spoke, looking at his classmates. Karma stepped forward. He saw the look in Nagisa's eyes. "I trust you, Itona", the redhead spotted, smiling at his friend. Koro-sensei ordered the rest of the class to step back. Itona and Terasaka stepped behind Nagisa Koro-sensei watched them closely. Karma took his position. With one hand, he held the equipment for Itona. With his other hand, he reached down to Nagisa's who took it and held it tightly. It was silent enough to hear the quiet noise of the collar opening. Nagisa pressed his eyelids together and focused on Karma's touch. As always, it made him calm and took a weight of his shoulders. After a second, he heard his classmates' relief. He opened his eyes again.

 _Love is not allowed to those who run_

 _Nor is it the power of the one_

 _Put your cares and hopes away_

 _And save them for a rainy day_

 _Until the world is swallowed by the sun_

After Karasuma managed to defeat the god of death, he freed the students and Koro-sensei and talked to Bitch-sensei who admitted her terrible mistake. She regretted helping the god of death and asked the class to forgive her. After returning home, Karma fell onto his bed as he entered the room. He felt exhausted, physically and mentally. Watching Nagisa in this dangerous situation really frightened him. He feared losing him. Karma never thought that Nagisa being in danger would be happening, and as everything turned out to be okay he felt more relieved than ever. He hated keeping secrets. Karma grabbed his phone. He decided to text Okuda. She has always been a friend who he felt like he could talk to about everything. And Karma needed some advice. He already thought about telling Nagisa about his feelings earlier, and now that thought wouldn't leave his mind. So he wrote: _Hey Okuda, I hope you are alright. I'm sorry to annoy you after a day like that but I need your advice._ After a few minutes Okuda answered: _I'm alright, thanks for asking. What is going on?_ Karma yawned and texted: _I just feel like you're someone who won't judge and is honest. I would like to tell you something really personal. Please keep it for yourself for the moment. It's not embarrassing but I'd prefer dealing with it myself._ Okuda responded: _No worries, Karma-kun, What's up._ Karma sighted. He suddenly considered if that's really a clever idea. Still he wrote: _I'm in love. And I don't know what to do right now. When the person' around I always feel so happy but sometimes I feel so jealous. I asked them about it, but I'm not sure if they're honest to me. And I hate myself for acting this jealous. And I'm afraid of telling them because I can't stand the thought of losing them, but I also feel like I need to tell them._ After sending Okuda his message, Karma regretted it immediately. As he got an answer, he nearly didn't even open it. Still he did: _It's Nagisa you're talking about, am I right?_ Karma was surprised. He considered writing something like who I'm talking about is none of your business, but he didn't. He felt like he could trust Okuda and responded: _Yes. How do you know?_ His classmate texted back: _To me, it was a little obvious._ Karma was shocked. He wrote: _really?_ And quickly read her answer: still _it seems like he didn't notice. I think I first thought about it when we talked at the island. And after that I noticed that you were around him all the time._ Karma was unsure what to respond. He texted: _what do you think should I do?_ It took Okuda a few moments before she wrote back: _it's up to you if you tell him. To be honest, I can't imagine that he rejects your feelings. The way you look at him – he looks at you the same way._ As Karma read her answer, his heart skipped a few beats. He stared up to the ceiling for a few minutes, then he took hi phone again and texted: _thanks for your advice, Okuda-san. You're really a great friend. I think I just need to talk to someone about it, so thanks for listening._ He put his phone away. He didn't want to think about it for the moment. He didn't want to develop any hopes out of nothing, and them get disappointed. Karma was glad that he was tired enough to fall asleep quickly.


	31. I'll admit that I'm a fool for you

Episode 31: I'll admit that I'm a fool for you

 _I keep a close watch on this heart of mine_

 _I keep my eyes wide open all the time_

 _I keep the ends out for the tie that binds_

 _Because you're mine, I walk the line_

Today, the class was talking about their future dream jobs. For many students like Karma or Nakamura, this wasn't a hard question to answer. It seemed like the whole class already knew what they wanted to do later. Nagisa stared at the sheet of paper in front of him. The only thing he had written on it yet was his name. So when he had to talk about his dream job with Koro-sensei, he had no idea what he should say. Considering his strengths, he told his teacher that he could imagine working as an assassin. Koro-sensei didn't seem surprised about Nagisa's wishes but responded to think about its consequences. After the conversation, Nagisa was more confused than before.

Nagisa returned home, and his mother was already there. She wanted to talk to him about his exam results again. She told her son that he had to be placed under the first 50 students o be allowed to return to the main building again, but that it was possible as well if the ranking was close and the parents paid the school. Nagisa was shocked by her reveal. He wanted to stay in the E-class. But his mother didn't want to hear his wish. She freaked out as she heard his dissent. Nagisa's mother was assured of her goal and told her son that she would be talking to his teacher the next day already. Nagisa knew that he couldn't do anything to delay it. He was devastated and called his teacher immediately. Koro-sensei told him not to worry. He would talk to Nagisa's mother and convince her to let Nagisa remain a part of the E-class. After the phone call, Nagisa went to his room and fell onto his bed. He didn't want to leave his class. And his classmates. He wasn't able to meet many of them after school. If he went to another class, he surely had to study even more to stay in his new class. What would happen to his friendship with Sugino? Or Kayano? He closed his eyes. And Karma? Would he be allowed to meet his again? Nagisa pressed his eyelids together to prevent a tear escaping his eyes. He couldn't imagine his life without Karma anymore. Especially now that he had rediscovered his confusing feelings for him. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he didn't want these feelings to disappear. He thought about the last time he held his hand. It was different to holding hands with Kayano some weeks ago. He liked holding Kayano's hand, but it didn't feel special at all. It was like holding your best friends hand. It didn't make Nagisa's heart beat faster. With Karma, it was different. When Itona removed Nagisa's collar with a bomb, he held his hand to calm him down. But Nagisa was sure that it wasn't only the adrenaline that made his heart skip a beat. The previous time Karma held his hand, he felt a sting in his chest as well. Nagisa was determined to find out more about these feelings. That was one of the main reasons he wanted to stay in E-class. He needed to talk about someone about his mother's plans. He grabbed his phone and opened his text message app. He first wanted to write Sugino, but then he texted Karma: _Karma-kun, I have a problem. My mother wants me to leave the E-class, but she won't listen to me when I tell her that I want to stay._ After a few seconds he got a response: _She wants to do WHAT? Please tell me you're joking_. Nagisa answered: _I wish I was. He wants to talk with the teacher tomorrow._ Karma texted back: _Do you think Koro-sensei will let you go?_ Nagisa wrote: _I already talked to him. He said he'll convince her to let me remain in E-class. I hope it works._ He quickly read the response: _I hope so too. I mean, it's Koro-sensei, is there anything he can't do?_ Nagisa texted: _I hope you're right. Thanks._ Karma answered: _what for?_ The blue-haired boy texted: _for listening. Good night._ He read Karma's answer before putting his phone away: _any time. Sleep well, Nagisa-kun._

 _You've got a way to keep me on your side_

 _You give me cause for love that I can't hide_

 _For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide_

 _Because you're mine, I walk the line_

Karma hated seeing Nagisa in a bad mood. As he entered the classroom the next day, Nagisa sat at his desk staring into nothingness, surrounded by Kayano, Sugino, Maehara and Okajima. They carefully asked him about his mother's plans. Seeing Koro-sensei dressed up as Karasuma-sensei to meet Nagisa's mother didn't raise Nagisa's mood at all. After class, Nagisa stayed at school to wait for his mother. Karma joined him. He wanted to cheer him up a little. "What do you think of Koro-sensei's Karasuma-cosplay?", he asked the blue-haired teen. Nagisa just shrugged his shoulders and continued staring on the ground. Karma grimaced. He knew he had to do something. "My parents are on a business trip again. What do you think about watching movies, eating pizza and just spending some time without worrying about school and stuff? You could tell your mother that you're staying at Sugino's again?", he spoke. Nagisa looked at Karma as he answered: "I don't think that's a good idea. My mother probably won't allow it." Karma stared back into Nagisa's big, blue, tired eyes. He couldn't stand to see him sad. Before he was able to say anything else, Nagisa added: "I'm worried about the talk. I don't know what I should do if I'm forced to leave this class. I can't imagine spending all this time without you." As eh noticed Karma's stare, he quickly corrected: "without all of you". Karma felt conflicted. He stepped forward and embraced Nagisa. He put his arm around the smaller boy and held him closely as he closed his eyes. Nagisa was the only reason he still came to school. Without him, everything would be pointless. He felt Nagisa's arm touching his waist and his head sinking onto his chest. He opened his eyes again and saw Nagisa's mother arriving. He let go of the blue-haired boy.

The conversation with his teacher didn't improve the situation. Nagisa's mother left in anger. Nagisa knew that this wasn't over. In the evening, his mother even returned to the school building with Nagisa. He finally managed to convince her to stay in E-class. His mother wasn't excited about it but accepted his wish. Nagisa felt released, and quickly texted Karma. He was happy about finally standing up to his mother. And he was happy about being allowed to remain in one class with his best friends. And with Karma. Nagisa thought about his friends. He felt like Karma was 't one of them anymore, he was a part of another category. Nagisa wasn't sure how to name it yet, but he felt good about it.


	32. pull everything apart?

Episode 32: pull everything apart?

 _Standing on the world outside_

 _Caught up in a love landslide_

 _Stuck still, colour blind_

 _Hoping for a black and white_

At the moment, every student forgot about the next exams and concentrated on the school festival. Their school was quite famous, and their school festival was really important for the school's reputation. Of course, the A-class already had some plans on what they would do. Today, the E-class talked about the festival as well. Koro-sensei, Isogai and Kataoka organized the meeting. Most of the students were impressed by the A-class and was sure not to be able to outplay them. Koro-sensei suggested using the natural resources given by the forest. Muramatsu and Hara quickly came up with some recipes and the other students split into groups for different tasks. Justice and Okano led the teams for obtaining the food. Yada advertised their meals. Okajima and Hazama designed and printed the menu. Mimura even created a website to promote their dishes. Nagisa was one of the waiters. Kayano and Sugino took part of the cooking team. Even Bitch-sensei helped he class. Karma and Chiba took care of the check. Everyone was proud of what they had managed to do. They even got visited by Sakura which made especially Nagisa really proud of their work.

As Nagisa took a break, he got accompanied by Nakamura. She apologized for all the times she teased him about being female, what surprised Nagisa who accepted her apology with a smile. The two of them were talking a little in the empty classroom as Nagisa heard a voice. He was shocked as he saw Yuji, the boy he met on the island, arriving at the building. Because he still thought that Nagisa was a girl, Nakamura quickly changed Nagisa's trousers with her skirt. She told the blue-haired boy to talk to Yuji and convince him to buy a lot of their food. Nagisa accepted her wish, thinking about helping his classmates. He met Yuji, and they sat down at a glade. Nakamura hid behind a bush to give Nagisa instructions. Nagisa wasn't happy about it but followed her order. He felt weird talking to Yuji who kind of tried to hit on him. Nakamura considered it as funny, and texted Karma to join her.

Karma was quite busy when his phone rang. He unlocked it and opened his messages, reading Nakamura's text: _if you don't want to miss Nagisa's first date with a guy, come join me at the glade ;P_. Karma was confused yet curious what his classmate was talking about. He told Chiba that he would take a break, and went into the woods, looking for Nagisa. He found the blue-haired boy sitting under a tree, talking to a boy he had never seen before. Karma spotted Nakamura and texted her as he hid as well: _Nakamura-san, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?_ He quickly rea the response: _This is a guy we met on the island when Nagisa was dressed as a girl. He still believes that and wanted to meet "her" again. We found out that he's quite rich and now Nagisa tries to convince him to buy a lot of our stuff._ Karma rolled his eyes as he answered: _that was your idea, wasn't it?_ He looked over to the blonde girl who grinned at him mischievously. Karma shook his head and focused on Nagisa again. He seemed to be a little uncomfortable, but still he laughed and talked to the other boy with a smile on his face. He felt a sting inside his chest. He didn't like seeing Nagisa beside that guy who tried to hit on him. He felt the jealousy rising inside him. But Nagisa stood up and told the boy that he was a boy as well. The other teen seemed disappointed and left. Nagisa looked glad to get rid o the skirt. After Nakamura left as well, Karma joined the blue-haired boy. "How was your date?", he asked him. Nagisa blushed. "Horrible", he responded, "I felt sorry for Yuji-kun. He must feel really weird now". Karma looked at Nagisa and spoke: "you seemed to enjoy at partly." Nagisa seemed to be confused by his words. "I don't know what you are talking about. Besides, that was Nakamura's idea. I didn't want to meet him again.", he said. Karma sighted. "It was just weird seeing you with that guy", he mentioned. Nagisa laughed a little and spoke: "Are you jealous, Karma-kun?" Now it was Karma whose face turned red a little. He tried to overplay it: "you wish, Nagisa-kun". As the both of them walked back to the building, Karma glanced at Nagisa. You're right, he thought, you're damn right I'm jealous. I don't like seeing you with other guys. I want you to focus on me. I need to tell you why: I am in love with you, Nagisa. Karma's heart skipped a beat as Nagisa looked at him and smiled before he continued talking about the festival. I need to tell him, Karma said to himself. Do it. Now! "Nagisa, wait for a second, please", Karma spoke, already regretting it the moment his words left his lips. Nagisa stopped and looked at him. "What is it, Karma-kun?", he asked. Karma stared at the ground as he said: "I need to tell you something."

 _Are you gonna be my love?_

 _Are you gonna be mine?_

 _I feel it falling from the skies above_

 _Are you gonna be mine?_

Nagisa stared at him. "Yes?", he stated. Karma wished he could turn back time and remain silent. He bit his lip. "I just…wanted to tell you…that I-", he began looking right back into Nagisa's eyes, "I- am sorry that I haven't been there to help you with your mother. I know how bad you felt, and I feel horrible that I didn't do something." On the one hand Karma felt released that he escaped the situation, but on the other hand he hated himself for not saying it. Nagisa looked at him with a smile. "It's alright, Karma-kun, I managed to deal with it. And anyway", he added as he placed his hand on Karma's shoulder, "there's nothing you could have done. So please don't worry about that." Karma nodded. Nagisa slowly removed his hand. They returned to the building.

Everyone was surprised about how many people came to their restaurant the next day. Ritsu found out that it was Yuji who had blogged about how delicious their food was. Nagisa was happy as he read "a good friend of mine works there…". Even Nagisa's mother visited them. She was in a good mood and complimented his work. Nagisa was pleased to hear her nice words. As she asked him about who helped him, he beckoned Karma to join them and spoke: "Mother, do you remember Karma?" "Sure. You studied with him a lot, didn't you?", his mother answered. "That's right. Karma is the school's second-best student", Nagisa mentioned. "And he's a good friend of you?", his mother questioned. Nagisa looked at Karma who also stared at him after he heard the question. "Yes", Nagisa stated confused. "A…friend".


	33. I can't take it, I'm impatient

Episode 33: I can't take it, I'm impatient

 _I think I worry a lot_

 _I need to take it easy_

 _I got this anxious feeling_

 _But it goes away for a minute_

 _When I'm with you breathing_

The final exams came closer. The whole class felt the pressure. Everyone knew that they had do give everything to beat the A-class and be a part of the best fifty students. Especially Karma had big expectations to fulfill. He wanted to finally beat Asano and get ranked first. He helped the other students studying, most of the time he studied with Nagisa. On Friday, a week before the exams, he visited the blue-haired boy to teach him maths. Since Karma met Nagisa's mother, she allowed Nagisa to spend more time with him. Nagisa liked studying with the redhead and considered him as a great help. After they studied the whole afternoon, they both totally lost rack of the time and when Karma checked his phone, he was surprised that it was already ten in the evening. He liked teaching others, and especially just enjoyed spending time with Nagisa. Just a second after Karma checked his phone, the boys heard a knock, and Nagisa's mother opened the door. She was surprised but pleased that they were still studying and spoke: "It's really great that you help Nagisa to prepare for the exams, Karma. It's already quite late, why don't you stay overnight?" Karma agreed, and Nagisa brought him the shirt he always borrowed him when he stayed overnight at his place. They both went to the bathroom and prepared themselves to sleep. Karma fell onto Nagisa's bed the second he returned. He got tired from studying quite fast. When Nagisa entered his room a few minutes later, he found Karma resting on his bed, already asleep. He closed the door and walked over to him. He sat down on the bed as well and watched the redhead. A smile automatically appeared on his face. His hand reached out to touch the red hair. Nagisa stopped and his hand persisted in the air. What am I doing?, he asked himself. He knew that the way he felt and acted around Karma wasn't how you feel around a friend. He let himself fall back as well, carefully, not waking Karma. Nagisa turned his head and watched Karma's face. He felt just like some time ago when he laid beside Karma on the floor after Karma had taken his bracelets and he tried to get them back. He was on pins and needles, and felt his face heating up. Karma. He wasn't his friend, and he has probably never been. Nagisa stared up to the ceiling. He felt an urge to turn around, hug Karma and fall asleep in his arms. He knew that this wasn't what people feel for their friends. These feelings were different, stronger. This feeling of smiling without even noticing it when Karma entered the room, the feeling of his skin heating up and melting once Karma touched it. This feeling….it was love. Nagisa quickly got up again and got himself a glass of water. He sat down at the kitchen table in the dark. Now he felt strange. He didn't know if it was alright to share the bed with the boy he loved who didn't know about these feelings. What if he didn't feel the same? What if Karma saw Nagisa as a friend? What if he was disgusted by him after he told him and didn't want to see him again? Or what if he probably felt the same? Nagisa looked at the clock. It was half past eleven. He wasn't sure what to think. He didn't want to lose himself in his hopes and get disappointed in the end? He made a decision. Nagisa promised himself to find out more about Karma's feelings now that he figured out his own. He stood up and returned to his room.

 _I know I'll fall in love with you, baby_

 _And that's not what I wanna do_

 _I hope you won't ever lie to me_

 _And if you do, I know I won't be your cry baby_

Nagisa stepped over to his bed and bend down to Karma. "Karma-kun, wake up. You're lying on the blanket.", he whispered. Karma opened his eyes slowly. He stood up, still half asleep. Nagisa quickly got under the blanket and turned off the lights. Karma laid down as well. He closed his eyes again. Nagisa stared at him in the dark. Then the blue-haired boy closed his eyes as well and fell asleep.

On Monday, the class met Asano in front of the main building. They talked a little about competition and about the exams. Karma seemed confident to beat Asano. The class was looking forward to the exams. Everyone had studied a lot and wanted to make their parents proud. The first exam to write was English. Karma walked to the classroom beside Nagisa, Nakamura, Yoshida, Kataoka and Isogai. He noticed how nervous his classmates were. He glanced at Nagisa. English was the blue-haired boy's nest subject, yet he seemed distracted. "Hey Nagisa-kun", he said, "what do you think about going to the sushi restaurant nearby the train station after the exam?" Nagisa smiled at him. "Sounds great", he answered, "Are you nervous about the exam, Karma-kun?". Karma laughed a little. "Not really", he responded, "I think I'm well prepared, and it won't be that hard. Are you nervous?" Nagisa nodded. "A little", he admitted, "but I think I'll handle it." The students entered the classroom and got to their desks. Nagisa sat down in the first row, Karma sat aslope behind him. He watched Nagisa unpacking his pencils and rooting Nakamura. He smiled to himself. The exams weren't bothering him at the moment. He was more concerned about what to do about his emotions for Nagisa. He kind of wanted to tell him, but he was afraid to get rejected or to lose him. He told himself to do something. After the exams, he would do something.


	34. I need you here with me

Episode 34: I need you here with me

 _If I told you that I loved you_

 _Tell me, what would you say?_

 _If I told you that I hated you_

 _Would you go away?_

 _Now I need your help with everything that I do_

 _I don't want to lie, I've been relying on you_

After writing his exams, Nagisa felt tired and depleted. He was quite proud about his work so far. The blur-haired boy waited for his friends. He wanted to meet with Sugino after school. Nagisa decided to tell him about his feelings for Karma. He felt like he needed to talk about it, and Sugino was the first one who came to his mind. He thought about Kayano as well, but she seemed a little distant lately. Nagisa had lately rarely spend time with her, and Kayano was missing school a lot. Probably she was sick again, but didn't want to talk to Nagisa about it. He accepted it. Nagisa was glad that he had Sugino as a friend as well. The two of them agreed on going to the café where Isogai used to work after the exams. Sugino looked exhausted too. They chatted about petty things first, but then Nagisa couldn't resist and interrupted Sugino: "I'm sorry, Sugino-kun, but I need to tell you something. I feel like I need to get it off my chest." Sugino took a sip of his coffee. "Go on, Nagisa, I'm listening", he spoke. Nagisa lowered his gaze. "I think I fell in love", he admitted. Sugino remained unimpressed. "It is Kayano?", he asked. Nagisa blushed a little. "It..it's not a girl", he said quietly. Suddenly he felt weird talking about it. He didn't think his crush's gender was a problem at all, he just felt unsure of what to do or say next. Sugino's voice got him back to reality: "Who is it, then?" Nagisa looked into Sugino's eyes as he spoke: "Karma." Sugino raised an eyebrow but still seemed to be unsurprised. Nagisa was confused by his reaction. After a moment of silence, he stated: "Really? No reaction?" Sugino oppressed a grin. "What do you want me to say?", he asked, "I think it's great that you found someone you like-or, love." Nagisa smiled. "How long are you feeling like that?", Sugino inquired his friend. "I'm not sure", Nagisa responded, "I realized it a week ago, but I think I already felt that way for a long time." Sugino took another sip and continued his questioning: "What do you mean when you say you feel "that way" ?" Nagisa was confused. "I thought you were in love too", he asked. Sugino spoke: "I probably had a crush on Kanzaki-san, but I'm not sure if it's love. I think it was more of an …admiration, but I think love feels different." Nagisa bit his lip. "Every time I look at Karma, my heart wants to escape my chest", he said nervously, "and I want to be near him all the time. I want to see him happy so bad that it hurts sometimes. I want to make him smile whenever I see him. I feel my skin burning when I hear him laugh. When he's around, he's all I can see. He makes me forget my problems with school, or my family, he makes me feel like everything is going to be alright." Sugino listened to Nagisa with a smile. After the blue-haired boy finished, he mentioned: "I'll help you, Nagisa-kun". Nagisa looked at him, surprised. "What do you mean?", he asked. "Sugino stood up. "I'll help you to find out if he loves you too."

 _Fallin' again, I need a pick-me-up_

 _I've been callin' you "friend," I might need to give it up_

 _I'm sick and I'm tired too_

 _I can admit, I am not fireproof_

 _I feel it burning me_

 _I feel it burning you_

The next day, the class got told their exam results. Of course, everyone was nervous, but the smile on their teacher's face made them a little calm. The octopus revealed the first fifty students from the ranking. Karma first didn't want to look, u them he saw his own name on the top of the list. He got them full marks and beat Asano. Overwhelmed by his excitement, he flung his arms around the small, blue-haired boy's neck who stood beside him. Nagisa hugged him back, speaking: "You did it, Karma!" The redhead blushed as he let go of him again. Koro-sensei asked him how he felt about his results. Karma answered: "I am sure that if I had not spent the last months with all of you, I would not have been able to solve everything." He looked around in the classroom and saw Maehara making plans with Okajima and Isogai, Itona making fun of Terasaka and Takebayashi, Hayami talking to Chiba and Kayano chatting with Kanzaki and Okuda. He gazed aside and spotted Nagisa who smiled at him and made his heart beat a little faster. He congratulated him for his results was well and told him how proud he was, causing Nagisa to blush too.

Now that every student of the E-class was a part of the top-50-ranking, everyone was allowed to leave the class and return to the main building. But no one cared about that. After passing the exams, the students wanted to focus on the assassination again. But the class got interrupted by the principal. He dared Koro-sensei to duel him to get revenge for the exam results. Every student had to leave the building and the octopus had to manage solving exam tasks before a grenade detonated. He failed his first try. Karma stood beside Nagisa in front of the window, watching their teacher. As the bombs exploded, Nagisa grabbed Karma's hand, shocked by the noise and the bursting of the grenade who spread the special bullets all around. Karma held his hand while protecting his head from the bullets with the other arm. They watched Koro-sensei trying to solve the next task, unaware of that they still held hands.


	35. I would have done anything

Episode 35: I would have done anything

 _I stand here waiting for you all the time_

 _Hope you recognize before I fall apart_

 _The one question staying on my mind_

 _Is why you keep playing with my heart_

But this time, Koro-sensei didn't fail. He was able to solve the task, causing everyone to be surprised yet amazed. Karma noticed that the pressure on his hand released, and he let go of Nagisa's hand. He focused on their teacher again. The octopus solved the other two tasks as well and waited for the principal to do his one. As the principal opened the book, the whole class including Koro-sensei was shocked. The bomb detonated, but Koro-sensei saved the principal from the explosion.

The next day, Isogai informed his classmates about a new rule from the student coalition. It was decided that the E-class had to participate in their next art project by performing a play. Most of the students were rather excited about the news. It would be a good distraction from the school stress. Karma immediately suggested Nagisa to take part. The blue-haired boy wasn't a fan of the idea. He liked theater plays but didn't like to present himself on a stage. He asked Karma if he joined though. The redhead accepted the offer. Kanzaki suggested Kayano as an actress as well since her play at the school institution was such a success. Kayano agreed on taking part. Isogai asked Mimura to be the director and Hazama if she could come up with a script. Most of the boys took care of the equipment and the set. A lot of the girls volunteered to create the costumes.

A few days later, the class met again to discuss the details. Hazama was unusually motivated and prepared. She spoke that she wanted to do a remake of Romeo and Juliet. She changed the script of the two lovers committing suicide to a story where the protagonists had to assassinate each other to remain their families' power. Everyone was pleased by the idea. Karma grinned at Hazama. Her idea was creative, and it kind of represented their class as well. Hazama revealed that she already thought about the roles. Since Karma and Kayano volunteered to play a major part, she casted them as Romeo and Juliet. Karma glanced at Kayano. The both of them happened to become quite good friends, and he hoped that playing a couple wouldn't feel weird. She assigned the other roles: Isogai would play the ruling prince of Verona, Maehara was casted as Count Paris who was expected to marry Juliet and Sugino was playing the Mercutio, a friend of Romeo. The roles of Juliet's parents got assigned to Okajima and Okano, and Rosaline, Romeo's former love interest, was portrayed by Nakamura. Chiba and Hayami were forced to play Romeo's parents, and Itona was assigned to play Romeo's best friend. The role of the poison maker was played by Okuda. The smaller roles were split for everyone who wanted to participate. Nagisa didn't take a part. He was happy working in the background as well. The class agreed on meeting in the afternoons to practice.

 _And I've been waiting for a long, long time_

 _Sometimes I wonder what made me start_

 _The one question staying on my mind_

 _Is why you keep playing with my heart_

The first rehearsals went quite well. Karma and Kayano worked together professionally, and the other cast members enjoyed their performance. Nagisa watched them every time. He didn't even had to come to every practice, but he still did. He loved seeing Karma act. The redhead managed to seem like himself and a complete different person at the same time. Nagisa watched him closely. He did deliver his lines, but he just couldn't entirely believe him talking about his love to Juliet. One time Karma couldn't come to rehearsal, and Mimura asked Nagisa to play his part for the trial. Nagisa liked working with Kayano. Still he felt totally numb saying these words about infinite love to the green-haired girl. Around a month before the premiere, after Kayano left the rehearsal, Karma stayed a little at the classroom and asked Nagisa to help him practice: "I need to get these words into my head, but I can't. Will you help me please, Nagisa-kun?'' Nagisa agreed, taking Kayano's script. "Ready?", he asked the other boy who grinned at him. "Act 1, Scene 5." Karma's eyes flew over the script, then he dropped it and stepped forward quickly. Karma took Nagisa's hand, an intense stare in his eyes. "Your hand is like a holy place that my hand is unworthy to visit. If you're offended by the touch of my hand, my two lips are standing here like blushing pilgrims, ready to make things better with a kiss.", he spoke. Nagisa got a little overwhelmed by the situation. Being this lose to Karma who held his hand, stared into his eyes and spoke these words with such a passion made him blush and get lost in the moment. He forced himself to lower his gaze and read the script: "Good pilgrim, you don't give your hand enough credit. By holding my hand, you show polite devotion. After all, pilgrims touch the hands of statues of saints. Holding one palm against another is like a kiss." He tried not to stutter and managed to calm his racing heart a little. Karma grinned a little with a mischievous face as he continued: "Don't saints and pilgrims have lips too?" Nagisa spoke: "Yes, pilgrim—they have lips that they're supposed to pray with, to make their sins vanish." "Well then, saint, let lips do what hands do. I'm praying for you to kiss me.", Karma stated, moving closer to Nagisa. He still held his hand as his other hand reached out to touch the blue-haired boy's face. "I hope you're not uncomfortable with this situation, Nagisa-kun? Combining the lines and the physical actions I have to make is better for remembering", Karma said quietly, out of character. Nagisa answered: "Actually, I don't mind it", making himself proud of his new-found confidence. Karma grinned and continued the scene: "Let my sins be taken from my lips by yours." His lips nearly met Nagisa's as he waited for the other boy to speak his line. "Then do my lips now have the sin they took from yours? So you may keep them", he spoke, placing his hands on Karmas shoulders and pushing him away softly. Karma took a deep breath. The scene made him forget his next line. He tried to process what just happened, how close he was to Nagisa. His heart pounded like crazy.

From that day on, Nagisa decided to help Karma practice again. The redhead wasn't bad at remembering his lines, but he wanted to repeat them more often and Kayano always left right after the rehearsal. Also, she didn't need to practice more, she remembered every single line. Nagisa took the chance to spend more time with Karma. He had thought a lot about Sugino's words about finding out more about Karma's feeling towards him. He felt more confident about himself lately and wasn't afraid of investigating in the other's emotions.

A week before the premiere, Karma was getting nervous. He called Nagisa in the middle of the night and asked him if he could practice with him the next day. Nagisa agreed, and even his mother allowed him to go. Karma didn't only think about the play. The times he practiced with the blue-haired boy he felt like Nagisa enjoyed the training as well. He considerer the possibility that Nagisa was probably interested in him too. But karma didn't want to get lost in high hopes. Still he thought about the practicing as a perfect way to find out more about his theory. He could blame a situation to the script and wouldn't be held accountable for his actions. As Nagisa arrived, he had already prepared himself for the last scene. Hazama had changed the script in the last act the most obviously, since that changed the story the most as well.

The last act began with the scene where Juliet tries to assassinate Romeo. They met secretly, and Juliet, driven by both her love and her need to live up to her family attempts an attack. Nagisa stepped forwards towards Karma, holding the script and one of the special knives from Karasuma hidden behind his back. "I feel the need to talk to you, my love. My feelings for you are undeniable, but so is my house. And the survival of my beloved family is only occurred once you and your one is vanished." Nagisa dropped the script and pulled Karma closer. He felt the other's hands around his waist and lifted his chin to face the redhead. "I love you, my Romeo", he spoke as he hit his stomach with the knife. Nagisa spotted a sparkle inside Karma's golden eyes before the protagonist hit the ground with a painful face. "I love you", he said as his eyes shut. Nagisa felt his head heat up hearing these words. He stood there, unsure of what to do. After a few moments he opened his eyes again. "Seriously? You just told me to be the one you love, yet my death causes no reaction from you?", he asked with a grin. Nagisa chuckled. "You are no dead", he mentioned. "But you think I am!", Karma shouted. Nagisa looked at the script again. "Do you want to play your actual death scene too?", he asked, and Karma nodded. After finding out that Romeo is still alive and planning revenge, the families set up a war leading to a showdown between the two lovers. Karma liked how Hazama wrote the scene. The two main characters were torn between their love, their regret and fear and if they should still hope. After the fight, they both lay in each other's arms, deadly wounded and telling each other how much they love the other. Nagisa was surprise how well Karma executed the scene. He was really emotional and Nagisa nearly believed his words were dedicated to him.

The premiere went really well. Karma was knowing every word. He was glad that Hazama decided not to include a kiss scene. While the last scene, he searched for Nagisa in the crowd. He found the blue-haired boy sitting in the middle of the room, and somehow he was everything Karma could see. As Kayano buried her face on his shoulder and Juliet died, Karma spoke his last words before Romeo's death while looking at Nagisa: "Is it too late, my love, to tell you my regrets? Why didn't I say something earlier? I am truly sorry, I love you."


	36. Never thinkin' twice

Episode 36: Never thinkin' twice

 _If this city was a kingdom, I'd want you to rule with me_

 _So worried for your safety after all our tomfoolery_

 _And I know I'm prolly freakin' out foolishly_

 _I just don't want the next thing that I write to be a eulogy_

 _In your honor_

 _And I know you'd hate it too_

 _All the pretty little things that I'd associate with you_

The evening after the play the E-class decided to meet at Karma's to celebrate the success of their play. His parents were watching the play, but left town again right after it for another business trip. After Koro-sensei, Karasuma and Bitch-sensei congratulated everyone, the students went home to calm own and get ready for the evening at Karma's. Nagisa was laying on his bed and stared into the nothingness. He was glad that everything worked out so well and that his mother allowed him to join his friends later on, even though he had to be home at eleven. He thought about the play and how well Karma was playing his role as Romeo. He just couldn't get his glance out of his head as he told Juliet able his love for her. Was he looking at him accidently while the reveal? Or was it probably on purpose? The sound of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. Isogai has sent him a text message: _Hey guys, great work from everyone today! I just talked to Karma and he's inviting us over at seven. See ya there!_ Nagisa was just about to put his phone away again as he received another message. It was from Karma: _Hey Nagisa, could you come over at half pat six already please? I need some help preparing some food_ _._ Nagisa answered: _sure and_ went to pack his bag. He left the apartment and walked over to Karma's. As he arrived, Karma was already waiting for him. They prepared some sandwiches together and talked about the play. A few minutes before seven, Karma left the room and returned with a small package. He handed it Nagisa with a smile: "It's a little thanks for practicing with me, Nagisa-kun". The blue-haired boy took it with a confused grin, saying: "Thank you, Karma? It wouldn't have been necessary though…" As he opened it, he found the new Sonic Ninja Comic and his face got brighter. "Where did you get this?", he asked the redhead, "It's still unreleased!" "Not in America", Karma responded, "I asked my parents to buy it on their last trip. I knew you're good enough In English to understand it anyway." A little overwhelmed, Nagisa hugged Karma quickly. "Thank you", he whispered. Karma smiled even more as he placed his arms around the smaller boy's back. Their embrace got interrupted by the doorbell.

 _I think you had it backwards_

 _I asked you who you were, said you're cute, you were flattered_

 _Now our story's gotta fill with happily forever afters_

 _And I don't think I could have fallen for you any faster_

At nine o'clock, many students already went home, and only a handful still remained. A group consisting of Karma, Nagisa, Nakamura, Maehara, Isogai, Kataoka, Chiba, Kurahashi and Fuwa. They sat on the floor in the living room, chatting and eating snacks. Nakamura's voice interrupted the babbling: "Guys…let's play a game!" Her classmates nodded in agreement, and Maehara asked: "Shall we play Truth or Dare again?" "Not again!", Kataoka stated. "What about Never have I ever?", suggested Kurahashi. Isogai mentioned that he liked her idea, and Fuwa asked: "How does it work?" Nakamura explained: "I tell you something I have never done, and if you did, you have to take a sip. It's even funnier with alcohol, but it works with juice as well. It's a little like Truth or dare, but only with Truth." Fuwa shouted. "Alright, let's do it!" The students formed a circle, and everyone got something to drink. Kataoka cleared her throat and began: "Never have I ever… copied a homework!" She observed her classmates. Karma, Nakamura, Maehara and Fuwa raised their glasses. Isogai was sitting beside Kurahashi. He stated: "Never have I ever missed class just to hang around and do nothing". Nakamura and Karma clinked glasses. The next one was Chiba: "Never have I ever thought about leaving E-class since Koro-sensei became our teacher". No one took a sip, but everyone started smiling. Kurahashi said: "Never have I ever… had a crush on one of my classmates!" It got quiet as Chiba, Isogai, Nagisa and Karma raised their glasses. Karma stared deep into Nagisa's blue eyes as he took a sip.

They played for some time, then Nagisa looked at the clock and noticed that it was already half past ten. Unless he wanted to return home late, he had to leave. He got up and went to Karma's room to get his stuff. Karma got up as well as he saw Nagisa leaving and followed him. As Karma entered his room, he found Nagisa sitting on his bed and putting his jacket on. "You're already leaving me?", he asked with a mischievous grin as he sat down beside the blue-haired boy. Nagisa smiled at him. "It's not like I want to", he answered, "I have an agreement with my mother." Karma let himself fall back on the bed. He watched Nagisa preparing himself to leave. The redhead grabbed Nagisa's shoulder and pulled him back on the bed as well. Nagisa turned his head and glanced at him with a confused yet bright stare. "Just…stay for another minute, Nagisa", Karma spoke, staring up to the ceiling. "Alright", Nagisa said quietly. Since Karma had pulled him back, his hand rested on his arm. Do something, Nagisa told himself, come one, don't think twice, just do something. "You know, Nagisa…", Karma's voice distracted him, "I love…your presence." Nagisa stared at Karma who still looked up to the ceiling. "You make me so calm, every time I'm just hyped and angry." Nagisa lifted his other arm and moved his hand towards Karma's. Telling himself not to think about it, he put it on Karma's hand. "Karma…", Nagisa started, "I think.. I really need to go now." Karma looked at him the first time for this conversation. "Of course", he spoke and got up, pulling his hand away from Nagisa's. Nagisa got up as well and took his bag. Karma accompanied him to the door. "See you tomorrow", he said with a smile. Nagisa responded to him and left the building with butterflies in his stomach.

The next day, Kayano asked Nagisa to help her clean up the storeroom beside the main building. After he joined her, Kayano revealed a surprise: she had tentacle too. She attacked Koro-sensei, and after a failure she told him to meet her in the afternoon. The students came as well. Everyone was shocked about Kayano, especially Nagisa. It was obvious that the tentacles were destroying his friend. But Kayano didn't listen. Do something, Nagisa told himself. He had to save her. Helping Kayano seemed a little problematic at the moment, but if she would be distracted from Koro-sensei, they probably had a chance.


	37. Maybe I'm too busy being yours

Episode 37: Maybe I'm too busy being yours

 _Have you no idea that you're in deep?_

 _I've dreamt about you nearly every night this week_

 _How many secrets can you keep?_

 _'Cause there's this tune I found_

 _That makes me think of you somehow_

 _And I play it on repeat_

 _Until I fall asleep_

Karma saw the cogs turning inside Nagisa's head. The blue-haired boy seemed devastated, but not like he had already given up. Karma was just about to join Nagisa to comfort him, but in that moment he started walking forwards to Kayano. What the hell did he come up with, Karma asked himself. He watched the smaller teen on his way to Koro-sensei and Kayano. But he could have never imagined what Nagisa did next. He…kissed her? What!? Karma stared at Nagisa while he felt his heart being shattered into a million tiny pieces. Of course he wanted to save Kayano too, but that didn't seem like an action to save a friend to him. There would have been other ways to distract her as well. Karma watched Nagisa' hand in Kayano's hair, his lips on her mouth. Still he kept his eyes wide open. After a few seconds, he let go of the green-haired girl, and Koro-sensei took care of her and removed the tentacles. Nagisa let himself fall onto his knees. He seemed to be really tired. Kanzaki and Okuda joined Kayano, and Sugino ran over to Nagisa. Karma remained just standing there, still shocked of what just happened. Nagisa asked Kayano if she was alright. He tried to be calm as he saw Kayano blush. Nagisa ignored it. He looked at Karma instead. Karma glanced back at him. He tried to act normal and look just like an average teenage boy who was glad that they were able to save their friend. A lot made sense to him now. Kayano being sick so often, and always returning home right after school or rehearsal. Karma still considered her as his friend. He was convinced that Kayano didn't act everything. There have been good moments, she had been happy. Her greed for revenge, magnified by the tentacles, wasn't able to erase all the good.

Meanwhile, Koro-sensei informed the class about his past. Actually, he was an assassin called the god of death. His apprentice betrayed him and revealed him to a science lab, and gave himself the name of the god of death. The lab did a lot of experiences on Koro-sensei, but he manipulated them to help him increase his own power. He met someone at the lab who turned out to be Kayano's sister.

 _I don't know if you feel the same as I do_

 _We could be together if you wanted to_

 _Do I wanna know?_

 _If this feeling flows both ways?_

 _Sad to see you go_

 _Was sorta hoping that you'd stay_

 _Baby, we both know_

 _That the nights were mainly made_

 _For saying things that you can't say tomorrow day_

 _Crawling back to you_

 _Ever thought of calling when you've had a few?_

 _Cause I always do_

Karma still couldn't believe it. His teacher was a professional assassin, his friend was an actress who implanted herself tentacles to kill him and Nagisa kissed her. A lot to process for one night. He glanced over to Nagisa. Their eyes met.

Please, Karma, Nagisa shouted on the inside, please don't look at me like that. You look hurt. Please don't be- I don't love her, and you should know that, remember, I told you. It's not like that. I don't love her. I love you. I should tell him. Nagisa lowered his gaze. He couldn't stand seeing Karma looking like that. He was glad about saving Kayano, but he hated himself for doing that to Karma. He seemed to care. A lot, he looked jealous. A friend wouldn't be jealous. Nagisa smiled to himself a little. I knew it. I'm not just a friend to him. What should I do? He felt embarrassed about the kiss. He hoped that Kayano didn't feel too uncomfortable about it. Sugino sat down beside Nagisa, "Are you alright?", he asked the blue-haired boy. Nagisa grimaced. "I think so", he answered, "I feel weird." "Because of Kayano?", Sugino questioned. "Yes", Nagisa responded, "and because of Karma." Sugino raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, he just acted in a strange way", Nagisa continued, "and he looked…hurt. I don't want him to look like that." "So it's pretty obvious", Sugino concluded, "he's in love with you, hat's why he didn't like seeing you kiss another one." Nagisa stared at the ground. "I really need to talk to him", he stated. Sugino mentioned: "maybe you should." "But I don't know what to say", Nagisa spoke. "Remember when I asked you about what you meant when you said you're feeling 'that way'?", Sugino asked his friend who simply nodded. "I'm sure you remember your answer", he continued, "why don't you tell him just that?" Nagisa thought about his words. Sugino was right. He should just tell him, what could go wrong?

He hesitated. On the one hand, he just wanted to say it, no matter the reaction because he accepted the way he felt. But on the other hand, he didn't want to do anything that could possibly influence their relationship in a bad way. He knew karma wouldn't laugh at him or make fun of his feelings, but it would get strange if Karma didn't reply his emotions. He couldn't stand losing Karma again. Simply the thought of it made his heart shiver. Nagisa looked over to the redhead. Currently he was talking to Karasuma-sensei. Nagisa watched him closely. He knew that he had to do something. He wouldn't allow Karma to suffer a heartbreak. Even if he had to be the one to endure one. As Nagisa watched Karma's hair falling in his face and the glow inside his eyes, he was willed to do anything to clear the situation. At any cost.


	38. all my dreams and fears

Episode 38: all my dreams and fears

 _Like lullabies you are_

 _Forever in my mind_

 _I see you in all_

 _The pieces in my life_

 _Though you weren't mine_

Damn it, Karma thought, now I have to text him back. Nagisa has been writing him all week, and he had ignored his messages. Now, on this Friday afternoon, he felt like he had to stop ignoring him. They had no school for the last week, and he hasn't seen the blue-haired boy since the last Friday. The day he kissed Kayano and broke his heart. Still he acted like nothing happened, and had texted Karma nearly every day. Karma decided to respond him today. He would see him on Monday anyway. _Hey Karma, how are you?_ He texted: _I'm fine, how are you?_ Nagisa replied immediately: _I'm good, thanks. Are you sure everything's alright?_ Karma grimaced as he responded: _Of course, don't you believe me?_ He quickly read the answer: _Sure. It's just…you haven't responded to my texts the whole week, that made me worry a little._ Karma smiled for a second, then he wrote: _Sorry bout that. I was just a little busy._ Nagisa texted: _No problem. Do you want to join me, Sugino and Kanzaki tomorrow? We'll visit Kayano in the hospital in the afternoon._ Karma raised his eyebrow reading Kayano's name. He responded: _I have plans with my family tomorrow. Tell her to get well soon._ Nagisa wrote: _Sure. Have fun with your family._ Karma just answered: _thanks._ And put his phone away. He tried to focus on his book again. After the play he had bought the original version from Romeo and Juliet, and he started reading it yesterday. The sound of his phone distracted him again. _What are you doing tomorrow?_ He responded Nagisa: _I don't know yet_ and continued reading. "If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep, my dreams presage some joyful news at hand. My bosom's lord sits lightly in his throne, and all this day an unaccustomed spirit Lifts me above the ground with cheerful thoughts." His phone rang again. _I see, I'm sorry I'm annoying you. I'll just let you be now._ Karma closed the book and grabbed his phone. He was angry about himself, now he made Nagisa feel bad just because he was sad about what happened a week before. He wrote: _You're not annoying, Nagisa._ The other boy responded quickly: _I feel like I am. I'm not sure about what is going on at the moment, but I don't want to make it worse._ Karma read his message and his heart felt heavy. He repeated: _You're not annoying._ After a moment of hesitation, he added: _You're amazing._ Nagisa didn't respond to that. Karma gathered his thoughts for a moment, then he wrote: _Can I ask you something, Nagisa-kun?_ The blue-haired boy replied: _sure, Karma_ and the redhead texted: _Last Friday you told Kayano something like you experienced yourself that nothing's left of someone once you give up yourself for an assassination. How do you know that?_ He ha to wait a few minutes before he received an answer: _To be honest, I wasn't sure if I ever wanted to tell you, but now I kinda have to, I guess. A few weeks before you joined the E-class, I attempted a suicide attack on Koro-sensei. Back then, felt like I had nothing to lose. My self-worth and self-esteem were quite low, and I thought that it wouldn't be a problem to anyone if I disappeared. It was really dumb, and I will never do it again._ After Karma wrote the message, his eyes filled with tears. He couldn't stand the idea that he probably wouldn't have Nagisa again after they distanced. The blue-haired boy would have died before he fell in love with him all over again. He answered: _Why did you do that?_ Nagisa responded: _As I said, I thought that I had nothing to lose. Before you freak out, remember that you tried a suicide attack as well, right before my eyes._ Karma remembered the time he tried the attack. He felt stupid. He wrote: _Right, I did something stupid too. Promise me that you'll never try something like that again._ He quickly received an answer: _I promise. Do you?_ Karma texted: _I promise you, Nagisa._ The other boy wrote: _I can't stand losing you again, Karma. I mean it. The moment I spoke to Kayano it reminded me of what would have been if my attempt was successful. I seriously regret it._ Karma still had tears in his eyes, yet he smiled a little as he responded: _You won't lose me again, Nagisa-kun, I promise you I'll never leave you._

 _I wanted to start again with you_

 _And I will leave all my worries here_

 _I wanted only you_

 _I know that I felt with you_

On Saturday afternoon, Nagisa entered the hospital beside Kanzaki and Sugino. He thought about his messages to Karma the day before. He remembered how bad he felt once he revealed to Karma, and how warm his chest felt as Karma told him about his promises. He wasn't sure if everything was back to normal between the two of them yet. He noticed how weird Karma reacted when he mentioned Kayano and decided to talk about her later. He was quite sure by now that Karma felt something for him too. But the redhead probably thought that he had a crush on Kayano, even though he had told him that this wasn't the case. Before meeting with Kanzaki, he had talked to Sugino who agreed on Karma not acting like a friend. As a friend, he would support what he thought to be his love life.

Kayano looked better than a few days before. Nagisa apologized for his trial to distract her. He was quiet embarrassed, and hoped that Kayano wouldn't be mad about it. Gladly, she wasn't. Nagisa was happy to have her back. Even though Kayano lied to him, he still considered her as a friend. As he left the hospital again, his thoughts went back to Karma. He hoped that everything would work out.

On Monday after school, he asked his classmates to meet him in the woods. After everything the class went through with Koro-sensei, Nagisa has thought about the possibility to save the teacher. He shared his idea and looked around. Some of his classmates seemed confused, some excited. Nagisa glanced at Karma. Something told him that the redhead hadn't forgotten about their discussion about Kayano yet. His eyes showed both an emotional conflict and a deep pain.


	39. now I feel defeated

Episode 39: now I feel defeated

 _You've got a lot of problems I know_

 _I've got a lot of fear in my heart_

 _I'm frozen while I'm watching you go_

 _Knocking on your door, asking "can we restart?"_

 _And maybe it's an issue I'll fix_

 _Or maybe it's a permanent scar_

Karma stared at Nagisa, unsure of what he just said. Did he really think that he wanted to save Koro-sensei instead of killing him? Why would he try that? Indeed, the class had a lot of fun with the octopus but killing him was their job and the reason the class existed. He felt an obscure anger rising inside him. He mostly was angry about himself. How could he forget their mission? Why did the rest of the class ignore the fact that Koro-sensei had to die in order to survive? He watched Nagisa's face closely. The small teen looked hurt and confused. Karma was a little angry about him too. Why couldn't he think of another way to save Kayano and had to hurt him instead? While Karma argued about their duty, he felt lost. He just wanted the day to be over, head home and go to sleep, favored beside Nagisa. He didn't want to fight him, but his anger was bigger. Nagisa shouting at him didn't really help against that. Then Nagisa's facial expressions changed. He looked more determined, just like a snake preparing itself for a fight. "What the hell should this stare express, Nagisa-kun?", Karma asked the other boy with mad grin. "I just…", Nagisa began, but Karma interrupted him by pushing him. The moment he hustled him, he already regretted it. But his wrath about the whole situation, about Koro-sensei, Kayano, Nagisa and mostly himself took over for a second, and he barged into him again. "If you have any complains, tell them after you defeated me", he spoke, "Come on, defend yourself." He grabbed Nagisa's tie and pulled him closer. He heard Nagisa whispering: "Is this still about Kayano?" as the small boy managed to throw him on the ground. Karma never wanted an actual fight, but now that Nagisa attacked him, his self-defense took over and he got up again, ready to attack. Suddenly Isogai and Maehara grabbed his arms to hold him back. "Stop it, Karma!", the blonde boy shouted. Karma stroke back, but together they were stronger than him. He looked over at Nagisa who was easily hold back by Sugino. They were interrupted by Koro-sensei. He suggested to solve the situation with a paintball match. The winning team's request would be accepted by the whole class. The students split into two groups: The red team insisting on Karma, Nakamura, Itona, Hazama, Terasaka, Chiba, Hayami, Mimura, Yoshida, Muramatsu, Sugaya, Kimura, Okajima and Okano wanted to assassinate their teacher, the blue team with Nagisa, Kayano, Isogai, Maehara, Hara, Sugino, Okuda, Takebayashi, Fuwa, Kanzaki, Kataoka, Kurahashi and Yada planned on saving him. Ritsu claimed to stay neutral, and Karasuma-sensei acted as umpire. As they took their positions in the woods, Karma kind of already regretted the match. Even though he didn't think that wasting time on saving the octopus was a good idea, he was willing to accept any outcome of the game. Still he was determined to try his best. He wanted to prove to himself that he wasn't depending on Nagisa all the time. He wanted to show his skills as a leader though. Watching Nagisa disappear through the trees made him wonder what to say to him once this was over. He clearly had to apologize.

 _You were the notes on my staff_

 _You fit like a glove on my hand_

 _You are the smile on my face_

 _You are the beach to my sand_

 _You make me complete,_

 _you made me complete_

Nagisa was determined to win. He told himself not to let his feelings for Karma influence the match. Besides, the whole game wasn't about the redhead, it was about the future of their teacher. It was okay that Karma had a different opinion than him. On his way to his position, he passed the rocks with the gap here he and Karma hid some time ago when the class was playing cops and robbers. In this game Karma had saved him from being caught, and now he was his opponent. Nagisa smiled a little to himself. Even though he had to fight Karma at the moment, he knew that he would always be on his side, no matter what.

The match began, and every few minutes someone got eliminated. After half an hour, Karma's team had seven members (Terasaka, Karma, Nakamura, Hayami, Yoshida, Itona and Muramatsu) left while Nagisa's only team mates were Isogai, Maehara, Yada and Okuda. Karma was confident about winning right now. Nagisa was a threat not to be underestimated, Yada and Okuda weren't the best fighters and even though Isogai and Maehara were quite strong, he was sure to get rid of them soon. Nakamura was his best chance to get rid of the blue team, and Hayami's skills were definitely useful. The blue team attacked, and Hayami shot Okuda and Isogai. But while doing that she ignored the others, and Yada eliminated her after she hit the class representative. But her triumph didn't last long as Itona shot her. He was attacked by Maehara right after that and got hit by him. But as the group lead by Nakamura headed to the flag, someone appeared out of nothing and shot all of them. Nagisa. Karma was shocked. He hadn't been able to spot the blue-haired boy once during the match, and now he eliminated everyone else from his team. Nagisa turned around and smiled at him for a second. For that moment, Karma's emotions overflew. He remembered the time Nagisa smiled at him when they first met, and the day they met again when Karma joined the E-class. The small teen had seemed to be so breezily, even though he had tried a suicide attack. Karma just wanted the fight to be over. He prepared himself to beat him as fast and as painless as possible. He wanted Nagisa back.


	40. Tell me you love me

Episode 40: Tell me you love me

 _Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry_

 _You don't know how lovely you are_

 _I had to find you, tell you I need you_

 _Tell you I set you apart_

 _Tell me your secrets, and ask me your questions_

 _Oh, let's go back to the start_

 _Running in circles, coming up tails_

 _Heads on a science apart_

Karma raised his knife and eliminated Maehara before he was able to reach him. Now it was only Nagisa and him. But the blue-haired boy has already disappeared again. Karm knew that he was hiding somewhere, ready to shoot him. He made a decision. Without a cover he walked into the direction towards the blue team's flag. It was an unfair move. Nagisa more or less had to fight against him now, face to face. If he just shot him, the red team clearly wouldn't accept the outcome. Nagisa put down his gun and took the two knives instead. He was willing to take the risk. As he walked towards Karma, memories filled his head. He remembered the first time he met the redhead and how impressed he was by his intelligence. He remembered the time he met him in a comic store and how he invited him to the cinema. Nagisa remembered all the times they spend in the park at the river, how shocked he was in the beginning when he saw Karma's aggressive side, the time they went to Hawaii and the night he found out about his feelings. Seeing Karma as his rival now hurt. But he was determined to save their teacher.

Karma attacked, but he missed Nagisa who blocked the knife. The redhead knew that he was the stronger one, but Nagisa technique was impressive, and he had a second knife. He managed to nearly hit him with his blade. He turned around and punched Nagisa to throw him on the ground. Seeing him lying there with blood running from his face caused Karma to feel a sting inside his chest. He didn't want to hurt him, but once he was fighting he lost control over how hard he defended himself. But Nagisa got up quickly and managed to disarm him. The fight went on for a few minutes, and they fought without weapons just to knock the other one out. Again, Nagisa fell down. He seemed to be tired of the fight. But he got up again, pulling out his second knife. Suddenly he let go of it, and managed to throw Karma on the ground. Nagisa choked the redhead, pressing his eyelids together and thinking of the day before when everything seemed to be alright. Karma tried to escape, but he had no chance. Still he managed to reach his knife. As he raised it over Nagisa, a memory passed his mind. He saw Nagisa smiling at him, speaking: "Nah, I don't think I'll ever get into a fight, I'd lose anyway." He remembered the expression of wrath in Nagisa's face as he fought Takaoka, and his screams later that night in his sleep. He let the knife fall back onto the ground. Karma closed his eye as he put his arms around the smaller teen. "It's alright, Nagisa", he whispered, "I give up. I lost, Nagisa-kun". The touch of Karma's arms made Nagisa open his eyes, and he let go of him.

 _Nobody said it was easy_

 _It's such a shame for us to part_

 _Nobody said it was easy_

 _No one ever said it would be this hard_

 _Oh, take me back to the start_

Karma was lying on the ground on his back. Nagisa laid beside him, his head rested on the redhead's right shoulder. He moved his left arm aside Karma's, and took his hand. Karma smiled a little. "Are you alright?", he asked the other boy. Nagisa answered: "I'm okay, and you?" as he felt Karma's fingers interdigitating with his own. "I'm fine", the redhead answered. "And I won?", Nagisa wondered. "Yeah", Karma told him, "And I'll help you to save the octopus." "Thanks. Let's go back to class, Karma-kun", the blue-haired boy spoke. Karma slowly let go of his hand and got up. "I think we're over saying '-kun' now, aren't we?", he asked. Nagisa smiled. "Sounds good, Karma." Karma reached out his hand and Nagisa took it. After he got up with Karma's help, the class went back to the building.

In the evening, Karma tried to finish Romeo and Juliet, but his thoughts distracted him. He owed Nagisa an apology. Karma grabbed his phone and wrote: _Nagisa, I'm truly sorry that I hurt you today. I think that it is time now to talk to you about some things. Also, I hope I didn't disappoint you. I figured out again that I tend to lose control quite easy without you helping and supporting me. I just wanted to tell you that I am and will always be on your side and that I will help your request to save the octopus. I hope you accept my apology and that you forgive me._ He read through it at least five more times, but then he sent it and went to sleep. In the morning, he discovered the response: _Karma, I need to apologize too. I forgot how emotional I can get about some subjects, and the question if we should kill someone is clearly one of them. Lately a lot of things happened, and now I am just exhausted and longing for a break so knowing that you'll help me is a great relief. I am really grateful that I met you and that I got you back now. See you tomorrow. Sleep well._ Karma grinned as he got ready for school. Finally, everything was back to normal.

In class, the students talked about a plan to save Koro-sensei. Takebayashi did some research and presented his results. He was sure that it was possible to prevent the explosion. Nagisa glanced back to Karma. There were some scratches on his face which looked painful. He ha bruises himself, but thanks to Yada's makeup skills he was able to hide them from his mother. Due to the research, the international space station did some experiments. After Koro-sensei asked Karasuma and Bitch-sensei to leave the room, the octopus informed the class about a rocket that was going to the ISS. He suggested sneaking onto the space ship and sending some students up into space.


	41. All of these stars will guide us home

Episode 41: All of these stars will guide us home

 _It's just another night, and I'm staring at the moon_

 _I saw a shooting star and thought of you_

 _I sang a lullaby by the waterside and knew_

 _If you were here, I'd sing to you_

The E-class accepted the trial and immediately began doing research about the station and the new space ship. A few days before the mission started, Isogai managed the last meeting. The only thing left to discuss was who would be allowed to travel to space. There was only space for two people, and Ritsu who would accompany them on a phone. The class representative asked who'd like to fly, and a lot of students volunteered. But after Koro-sensei revealed that the rocket has never been tested, Itona was the only one who still wanted to try it. Still he suggested Nagisa and Karma to go on the mission. Karma first turned the offer down, saying he wasn't keen on sitting on hundreds of tons of rocket fuel. But also he didn't want Nagisa to go alone, so he finally accepted it.

The day of the mission arrived. Every step worked, the breaking in, the manipulation of the security cameras and their way to the space ship. Nagisa was hiding in an air duct beside Karma. They waited for Ritsu's signal that the way was free. Nagisa was playing with a hair tie. He hated waiting, especially in dark, small rooms. He felt Karma's gaze on him and automatically smiled a little. "Hey Karma?", he stated quietly. Karma raised an eyebrow, and Nagisa continued: "Did I ever tell you that after the final exams I'm going to get my hair cut?" Karma answered: "I thought so. You never seemed to be happy about your hair. I'm sure a short cut suits you as well, Nagisa". Nagisa grinned, then they got interrupted by Ritsu who informed them to start moving. They reached the rocket and met Koro-sensei who told them that he examined the space ship again and that everything should be alright. Karma grinned mischievously as he spoke: "So it's your fault if we get killed in an accident?" They entered the rocket, put on the space suits and took away the mockups. The countdown ended, and the rocket was about to take off. "Do you remember the last time we travel very fast?", Nagisa asked, thinking about the day Koro-sensei took them to Hawaii. Karma smiled. "Yeah, I remember. Do you want to take my hand this time too?" Nagisa blushed a little as he responded: "If you don't mind?" Karma's heart beat a little faster as he reached over to Nagisa's hand, saying: "Feel free to hold my hand anytime."

 _Back to the time you were lying next to me_

 _I looked across and fell in love_

 _So I took your hand back through lamp lit streets, I knew_

 _Everything led back to you_

 _So can you see the stars over Amsterdam?_

 _You're the song my heart is beating to_

As the rocket reached the ISS, the class was released. Karma took off the belt and experienced the absence of gravity. He turned around a few times. Moving in the weightlessness was easier than he expected. As Nagisa joined him, Karma pulled him into a deep hug. He was glad that everything worked, and the joy lighting up his heart. He was floating around in a space ship, breathing in the scent of Nagisa's hair and when he opened his eyes, he saw the earth from above. Nagisa's voice brought him back to reality: "Let's go, Karma, we've got a lot of things to do." Karma let go of the blue-haired boy and reactivated Ritsu. Nagisa handed him the fake knife and the fake bomb and opened the gate. The negotiations with the other astronauts went surprisingly well. The crew allowed them to copy their data, and they prepared to travel back to earth. Nagisa levitated in front of a window, staring in awe at the earth. Karma glanced at him with a smile. He made a decision. If we're going to survive this, he promised himself, then I'll tell you, then I'll tell you that I love you, Nagisa.

It looked like Karma had to keep his promise, because everything went well and luckily they reached the earth just as Ritsu calculated. A few days later, the class met to discuss the outcome of the research. Okuda found out a lot about how the tentacles worked, and she was confident to solve the problem. The whole class was overwhelmed. It looked like they had an actual chance saving Koro-sensei.

In the evening, Nagisa was chatting with Sugino. First, they were talking about the mission, but then the subject changed. Sugino asked Nagisa for help, since it was only a few days til Valentine's day and he was wondering about Kanzaki. He felt like though his feelings for her changes, she was still someone he adored, and he was unsure if he should buy her a gift. Nagisa had no idea of what to respond. Sugino only got his full attention as he started talking about Karma. He wrote: "Did you tell Kayano yet?" Nagisa negated. He felt like talking to Kayano got a little weird since her reveal. He did want to tell her sometime, but just not now. Sugino told Nagisa that he felt sorry for the fight with Karma. Though Nagisa hated the feeling of having Karma as an opponent, he didn't regret it. He even felt like it brought the two of them closer together. The way Karma behaved through the last days also fortified his suspicion that he could possibly like him too. His actions and his behavior were different to the ones of his friends, and he felt weird imagining Sugino or Kayano behaving like Karma does around him. Nagisa noticed how a thousand little things about Karma immediately appeared in his head. He fell asleep with a smile.


	42. all I can think about

Episode 42: all I can think about

 _Is it alright if I come round_

 _Is it too late if I come now_

 _Would you stay up to figure this out_

 _Some way_

 _If I stay here would you come back_

 _If I stay cool would you be mad_

 _Would you want me if I want you_

 _That way_

It was Thursday, February the 13th. Nagisa was on his way home with Sugino, Okuda, Kayano and Karma. They were talking about their next schools. Karma revealed that he planned on staying at the Kunogigaoka. He was very keen on battling with Asano and making fun of all the students who used to laugh at him. Nagisa told his friends that he decided to make the entrance exams for another famous school. On the afternoon, Nagisa agreed on helping Sakura with her homework, so he didn't head home but accompanied Karma on his way to the daycare. Later that day he had his entrance exams, so he was a little distracted. Karma asked him if he was nervous. Nagisa nodded. Even though he and his mother had some issues, he still wanted to make her proud. In return for his good grades, she allowed him to have more free time and stopped controlling everything he did. Nagisa was still amazed about that she had never found a gun or a knife in his room. He tried to focus on Karma again. "So what are you doing tomorrow?", he asked the redhead who looked at him with a surprised facial expression. "I don't have any plans yet, and you?", he responded. Nagisa asked: "Me neither. Do you wanna hang out?" Karma grinned. Obviously Nagisa had forgotten the fact that it was Valentine's Day tomorrow. "Sure", he answered, "after school at my place?" Nagisa agreed and as he was about to head into another direction, Karma wished him good luck for the exams. Helping Sakura made Nagisa remember the time he was at her age. He liked teaching her, and Sakura suggested him becoming a teacher. Nagisa felt pleased hearing her words. Probably becoming a teacher was something he could enjoy. After he finished educating her and was on his way to the entrance exams, he spotted a decoration inside a shop's window and suddenly remembered what day tomorrow was. He blushed a little thinking about spending that day with Karma.

 _Isn't it strange that every time_

 _I look at your name I'm suddenly high_

 _For you to feel the same I would do almost anything_

 _I'd give away this, give away that_

 _All of my shoes and all of my hats_

 _All I need's you and a bit of music_

The next day was quit amusing, regarding their classmates. Okajima was really fun to watch, even though he was entertaining all the time. As Karma entered the classroom, he spotted Nakamura talking to Kayano and decided to join them. The two of them were a quite unusual pairing and he was interested in what they were talking about. Kayano tried hiding a little package from the blond girl. Karma stared at her, slowly realizing what this was about. Kayano had bought a Valentine's Day-present for Nagisa. He bit his lip. He tried to get away again, but Nakamura grabbed his sleeve and forced him to accompany her. She wanted to help Kayano, probably a friendly gesture, but Karma like the last person on earth to help her trying to flirt with Nagisa. Hiding her feelings for the blue-haired boy seemed to be hard for her since the 'saving incident' happened. Karma put on a fake smile as he involuntarily followed Nakamura and Kayano. He saw Sugino's attempt to talk to Kanzaki and watched Chiba and Hayami. All of them seemed to know what they were doing. Karma sighted. He promised himself to tell Nagisa about his feelings. And now he was forced to send the day with Kayano who obviously considered doing the same. Nakamura convinced Kayano to give Nagisa her present, and she sat down with Karma in front of a window to watch her. Seeing Nagisa made Karma's heart immediately beat faster but thinking of Kayano made it weird. He glanced at the green-haired girl. It looked like she decided not to tell him. Karma wasn't sure if he should feel good about that. Nakamura' voice interrupted his thinking process: "Impressive. You spend the whole day listening to her plans about talking to Nagisa without even batting an eye. It must be hard for you." Karma cringed. "What do you mean?", he asked the blonde. Nakamura grinned. "It's not like you're trying to hide it.", she stated, "I figured it out, Karma-kun." The redhead sighted. "So what?", he spoke, "It's none of your business." Nakamura looked particular serious as she continued: "Are you going to tell him though?" Karma stared at the ground. "I decided to. I can't keep it to myself any longer." He saw Nagisa leaving the building, looking around. Karma got up. "I gotta go", he shouted. Nakamura chuckled as she added: "Go do it, Karma!"

As they arrived at his apartment, Karma became more and more nervous. He decided to think about it later and asked Nagisa: "So did Sugino talk to Kanzaki today?" Nagisa sat down at Karma's bed. "Finally", he grinned. "You figured out what day we have today, right?", Karma asked as he sat down too. Nagisa blushed a little. "Yeah", he said. Karma laughed. He got up again, and asked Nagisa if he wanted to watch a movie. The blue-haired boy agreed but added: "Under one condition: we're not watching one of these stupid valentine's day cliché love movies!" Karma nodded and suggested the total opposite: "what about a horror movie?" Nagisa answered: "fine, but only with some snacks and blankets to hide under". Both of them laughed, and Karma got everything Nagisa asked for. Karma noticed Nagisa moving closer as the movie started, and while watching a jump-scare scene, Nagisa took his hand. Karma felt a tickling on every inch of his skin. Half through the movie, they paused for a second because Nagisa had to go to the bathroom. Karma noticed how his nervousness had disappeared more and more. He just felt happy being around the blue-haired boy. As he heard the door opening, he placed his arm at the pillows behind his and Nagisa's head. They continued watching, and Karma slowly moved his arm to lay it around Nagisa's shoulders. He saw Nagisa smiling a little as he touched his shoulder, and again he considered telling him. It didn't feel like opening up and sharing a big secret anymore, it felt like something petty he still needed to do. After they finished watching, Nagisa placed his head on Karma's shoulder and closed his eyes. "Are you tired, Nagisa?", Karma asked. Nagisa yawned as a response. Karma reached for his phone to check the time. Instead of his own, he accidentally took Nagisa's. He activated the screen only to find a picture of himself, standing beside Nagisa in front of an ancient building. "Where did you get this picture?", he asked the other boy who opened his eyes again. "Okajima sent me the photos he took on our last trip, and I needed a screen picture", he answered. Karma smiled. He felt nearly honored to appear on Nagisa's phone every time he looked at it. "What time is it?", Nagisa questioned. Karma responded: "15 past ten." He hesitated a moment, then he asked: "Would you like to stay overnight?" Nagisa lowered his gaze. "I'd love to, but I have an agreement with my mother to be home at eleven." Karma removed his arm form Nagisa's shoulder and got up. He stepped over to his desk and grabbed a little present. He sat down at the edge of his bed and handed it Nagisa who opened it carefully. He found a gift card for a local hairdresser. Karma blushed a little as he saw the sparkling in Nagisa's eyes and mentioned: "This doesn't mean you need a new haircut, but I know you wanted to get one in a few months, so I decided to help you with that." Nagisa's smile got even brighter. "Thank you, Karma", he said softly. He was about to hug the redhead, but then he pulled something out of his bag and gave it to Karma. It was an old comic book form Sonic Ninja. "You lent me this book two years ago, and I decided to finally return it", Nagisa spoke, "I know it's not really a present, but I was unsure of what to get for you, sorry". Karma put the book on his desk. "Thank you, Nagisa", he said, "it's a great gift." He let himself fall back onto his bed. Nagisa did the same. Now they were laying side by side, talking about the other presents their classmates received today. After some time, Nagisa asked Karma to hand him his phone. He wanted to look at the clock, but the screen remained black as he tried to activate it. He asked Karma to get his phone, because obviously his own one's battery was dead. Karma stated: "22.40" and turned to face Nagisa. He stared into his big blue eyes. Karma felt a sting inside his chest. He had to tell him. "Karma?", he heard Nagisa's voice, "I... I think I- I need your help." Karma raised an eyebrow. "I think Kayano has a crush on me, but I'm not into her, and I don't know what to do." Karma first felt a little angry hearing Kayano's name, but now he pitied her. "Well, I think you should probably talk to her. Tell her what a great friend she is to you, I don't know." "Right". Nagisa stared into Karma's eye for a second, then he got up. Karma accompanied him to the door, and Nagisa embraced him as a goodbye. Karma hid his face in Nagisa's hair. He felt Nagisa's arms holding him tightly, and his breath against his chest. His heart pounded like crazy, so loud that he was afraid Nagisa could hear it.

After the blue-haired boy left, Karma laid on his bed. He took his phone and opened the file with Okajima's photos. He scrolled through them and looked closely at a few. He stopped at a picture of a bus ride. Karma was sitting beside Nagisa, and both of them were asleep. Karma's head rested on Nagisa's shoulder. He stared at the picture for a minute. He was almost sure to spot a smile on Nagisa's face. He closed the file again and opened his text messages. Trying not to think about it too much, he wrote _I know it's cliché to do this on valentine's day but I love you._ He reconsidered it a moment, then he sent the message.


	43. Tell me why

Episode 43: Tell me why

 _When you're all alone_

 _I will reach for you_

 _When you're feeling low_

 _I will be there too_

Karma was sitting on his desk, staring at his phone. Two whole days had passed since he confessed to Nagisa, and he still hadn't received a text message or a call from the blue-haired boy. Karma had been checking his phone every few minutes since he texted him, and he was confused and disappointed that he had no idea how Nagisa reacted. Getting no answer at all was horrible. Tomorrow was Monday, and he would see Nagisa again at school. He was nervous about what would happen the next day. But he didn't regret texting him. After all, Karma felt relieved that it wasn't a secret anymore. He just wanted to know how Nagisa would react.

The next day, Karma sat in the classroom, reading a page of a school book to distract him. Still he glanced over to the door every few seconds. His heart felt like it tried to escape his chest by breaking a few rips. Suddenly he noticed Nagisa's voice. He felt his cheeks turning red. Nagisa entered the classroom aside Sugino and Kayano. All of them seemed to be excited. Nagisa walked over to Karma's desk and the redhead prepared himself for the worst. "Hey Karma, guess what? I passed the entrance exam!", Nagisa spoke with a wide grin on his face. "I wanted to text you, but my phone charger broke", he added quickly. Karma needed a moment to gather his thoughts. "What?", he asked. Nagisa took a deep breath and began again: "I just wanted to tell you that I passed the entrance exam. And I couldn't tell you earlier because my phone charger broke. On Friday my battery was empty, remember? I wasn't able to use my phone since that, but after school I'll buy a new charger." Karma stared at Nagisa. So he had been worrying the whole weekend about the confession and now Nagisa didn't even know yet? But he was going to find out this afternoon! "Congratulations, Nagisa!", Karma said with a smile. "Thanks", the smaller boy responded, then he asked: "Did you text me during the weekend? I'm sorry I couldn't contact you, has something important happened?" Karma lowered his gaze. "No, nothing", he answered. They got interrupted by Koro-sensei who told the class that he wanted to create a yearbook for them. The students spend the rest of the day looking through tons of pictures the octopus took over the year.

That day, Karma fell asleep again without receiving any messages from Nagisa. He didn't know what to do. Karma was aware that Nagisa's phone was working again, and that he had read his message. He was unsure of what the silence meant. The following day, Koro-sensei wanted to reenact different scenes from the lessons and their trips. Nagisa was acting like it was another day, and he talked to Karma in a normal way. He didn't say anything about the text message, and Karma asked himself if he had even received it. After school, Nagisa stopped Karma from leaving and pulled him aside. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?", he questioned. Karma's heart missed a beat. "Not yet", he answered. Nagisa smiled. "I'm meeting Sakura now because I promised to study with her again, and I was wondering if you'd like to meet at the park at the river afterwards?" Karma blushed a little. "Sure", he responded. Nagisa smiled at him. "see you at six", he said as he waved goodbye. Nagisa was surprised of himself and how he managed to remain this calm around Karma. Since he read Karma's text messages, he was unable to think about anything else than him.

 _Your lips_

 _My lips_

 _Apocalypse_

Karma was sure that he has never been this nervous before in his entire life. A billion thoughts wandered through his head as he left the apartment to meet Nagisa. While walking through the streets, he took out his phone and texted Okuda and Nakamura: _I told him, by the way._ Then he silenced his phone, so he wouldn't be disturbed in an important moment. As he arrived at the river, Nagisa was already there. His blue hair was moved by the wind. He sat on the ground on his jacket, staring at the river. Hearing Karma's steps, he turned around and smiled. Karma sat down beside Nagisa. "Sorry I'm late", he stated. Nagisa smiled benignly a he said: "Actually you're not, I was just here earlier." Karma bit his lip. "How's studying with Sakura?", he asked. "Its fine", Nagisa responded, "she's really smart, and I like educating her. Today she even suggested me becoming a teacher." Karma liked her idea. "Maybe you should listen to her. You'd be a great teacher, you're clever and know how to treat people. You even managed dealing with Terasaka, and that's a big deal. You should really consider it", he spoke. Nagisa stated "thanks", then he started grinning. "She also said if it doesn't work, I could become her boyfriend instead." Karma chuckled as he said: "Maybe you shouldn't listen to everything she suggests." Nagisa laughed a little. The both of them remained silent for a minute. Karma thought of saying something, but he had no idea what he should talk about. Nagisa cleared his throat and stated as he stared at the river again: "by the way, I'm sorry I didn't text you back, I just prefer communicating face to face, and I wasn't sure how to put everything in words." Karma watched Nagisa focusing on the water and playing with a hair tie. He obviously was nervous too. Karma looked at the river as well. "It's okay, Nagisa", he said calmly, "we don't have to talk." He felt Nagisa's gaze on him and turned his head. Nagisa spoke: "But I want to. Actually, I want to tell you a lot of things. I want to tell you how afraid I am all the time thinking about that the world could end soon and that we'll all die and that I'd lose you forever and that I want to do anything to make sure you're alright and-" "Calm down, Nagisa", Karma interrupted him gently. He smiled at the blue-haired boy and felt his heart exploding. Nagisa took a deep breath. He leant forward and quickly embraced Karma, burying his face on his shoulder. Karma immediately put his arms around the other boy. He moved one arm up to his head, and his fingers ran through Nagisa's blue hair. Karma smiled automatically. "You have a weird way saying someone what you feel", he whispered. Nagisa pulled him closer. Suddenly a phone rang. Nagisa sighted and distanced himself a little. "It's my mother", he said, and answered the call. Karma just sat there, watching him. He couldn't believe what happened the last few days. Still he wouldn't change a single thing. Nagisa put his phone away again. "I'm really sorry, Karma", he spoke, "but it seemed like I forgot that we're celebrating my grandmother's birthday today. I think I need to go home". Karma got up and reached out his hand. "I'll walk you home", he offered. Nagisa took his hand and got up as well. Walking through the empty streets, they were talking about extraneous things and laughing about Koro-sensei's ideas for the yearbook. As they were only a few corners away from Nagisa's home, Karma stopped to head into another direction. "So…. I 'll see you tomorrow", Karma spoke. Nagisa smiled. "Yeah, tomorrow. Let's see what Koro-sensei wants to do next." "I'm looking forward to it", mentioned Karma. He glanced at Nagisa for a moment, unsure of what to do. To end the quite awkward silence, he repeated: "see you tomorrow", and was about to leave. "Wait!", Nagisa shouted. Karma turned around again. Nagisa stepped forward and raised himself on tiptoes. He put his hands on Karma's shoulders and leant forward. Before Karma even knew what was going on, Nagisa closed his eyes and put his lips on Karma's for a second. Then he pulled back, his face turned red. Karma just stood there on the empty street, overwhelmed of what just happened. He blushed as well, and watched Nagisa turning around and quickly disappearing around the corner. A smile widened on Karma's face. He remained on his place for a moment, then he went home too.

Arriving home, Nagisa didn't have much time overthinking the evening, but after his relatives left he laid on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He was surprised by his own courage and proud that he dared to kiss Karma. As he did, he felt like the butterflies in his stomach got replace by a crowd of furious bees. His heartbeat stopped for a second. Everything around him disappeared. Nagisa grabbed his phone. As he activated the screen he stared at the picture of Karma and smiled again. He opened his text messages and wrote: _Karma, I know I'm not good with words or expressing my feelings, but I think I found something great to describe it: I love you too._

As Karma woke up the next morning, he checked his phone and found Nagisa's text message. He couldn't believe his eyes. A bright smile appeared on his face. He hadn't slept much the last night, still now he was wide awake. Karma had spent hours lying in his bed, thinking about Nagisa. He stood up and got ready for school. He was looking forward to meeting the blue-haired boy again. Karma was one of the first students to arrive at the building. When Nagisa walked into the classroom with Isogai a few minutes later, Karma couldn't help but blush. Nagisa grinned at him and continued talking to Isogai.

After school, Nagisa stayed longer to talk to Koro-sensei- He revealed his plans about becoming a teacher and the octopus provided him advice. The talk with his teacher encouraged Nagisa to follow his dreams, and he was glad that he found his destination. As he was about to arrive home, he received a text message from Karma: _Hey Nagisa, what are you doing at the moment?_ The blue-haired boy smiled, and he responded: _Nothing, and you?_ Karma answered: _Same. Do you wanna hang out?_ Before Nagisa could text him back, he noticed a light at the hills where the school building was. It looked like a cage made of laser rays. He received another message, it was from Kayano: _Have you seen the light at our school? Let's meet at the train station!_ Nagisa texted back: _I'll be there soon_ and wrote Karma: _Come to the train station, something happened!_ Then he turned around and ran in the direction of the station. Many of his classmates were already there. Nagisa was looking out for Karma, but he couldn't find him. The streets were ruled by chaos. Reporters were running in circles, and citizens screamed at police officers, trying to get any information. Isogai spotted Karasuma in the middle of the crowd. Nagisa felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. Karma had arrived, and Nagisa embraced him quickly. "What happened?", the redhead asked. No one was able to answer. Karasuma gave the students a sign, and they met with some police officers to talk. Karasuma informed the class that the government was executing their last plan to kill Koro-sensei. He told the students that they were unable to do anything and left again, aside the policemen. But Nagisa wasn't convinced. He was sure that Karasuma tried to tell them something he was unable to say in front of the police. The class still had some time. Everyone was willing to do something. The girls were keeping an eye out for policemen in the city, and the boys tried to spy on the school ground. Ritsu constructed maps from the surroundings.

Finally, their plan was complete. Nagisa left the apartment in the evening. He observed the surrounding, then he headed toward a meeting place. A few corners away, he met Karma. Nagisa was glad to see him. H hadn't been alone with the redhead for the last days, because everyone was focused on coming up with a plan. Karma was leaning against the wall, staring at his phone. As he noticed the other boy, he put it back in his bag and smiled at Nagisa. "I feel like I haven't seen you in years, Nagisa", he stated. Nagisa responded: "Me too. I'm glad to see you. Why did you want to meet me before we join the class?" Karma took a few steps and grinned mischievously. "There's something I really need to do", he mentioned. Nagisa raised an eyebrow. The next moment Karma grabbed Nagisa's coat and pulled him closer. He put his other hand on Nagisa's neck and touched his hair as he kissed the other boy passionately. Nagisa closed his eyes and put his hands around Karma's waist. Again, the world around him disappeared.


	44. Maybe it's just too late

Episode 44: Maybe it's just too late

 _Maybe I'm wrong_

 _Or maybe I'm right_

 _Maybe it's just too late_

 _but this is keeping me awake all night_

The students met at the bottom of the hills. Karma led the mission. To reach Koro-sensei, they had to get through the woods which was full of police officers. Still they had a chance. Thanks to their training, they know the forest like the back of their hands. Nagisa glanced at Karma. They had to see the octopus again. One last time. Unless that, they won't have a closure. The students formed small groups and began their way through the woods. Ritsu informed them about their targets' locations. There were only three hours left until the laser would kill Koro-sensei.

Okano was the first one to knock out one of the soldiers. Mimura, Maehara and Isogai took care of the second one. Their screams echoed through the forest. Karma was running beside Nagisa. They headed to the highest point of the hill where the students agreed on to meet. On their way there, they still had to eliminate a few soldiers. The two of them went first, a little after them were Chiba and Hayami. In case there were too many soldiers at once, they should not take a risk and let the snipers finish them with their tranquilizer guns. In the beginning, everything went well. Still, as a huge team of soldiers arrived, Karma grabbed Nagisa's hand and pulled him back. Of course Koro-sensei and the mission were important to him, but he cared even more about Nagisa and his classmates and didn't risk putting them in avoidable danger. Nagisa noticed the conflict in his eyes, and something else: fear. He had only seen Karma looking like that once, in the night where he fight Takaoka. Back then he wasn't able to classify the look in Karma's eyes. He held on to his hand tightly as they waited for the soldiers to split up and form smaller groups, so it would be easier to attack them. Nagisa heard Karma's voice, whispering in his ear: "Are you scared?" The blue-haired boy perked up his head and stared into Karma's hazel eyes with a soft smile. "No", he answered quietly, "are you?" Karma smiled a little as well and bend down to kiss Nagisa's cheek. "Not anymore", he whispered. He glanced over to the soldiers. It was time to go further.

 _We go out on our own_

 _It's a big bad world outside_

 _Carrying' our dreams and all that they mean_

 _Trying to make it all worthwhile_

Karma led the students through the woods. In the end, on the top of the hill there was only one soldier left. Terasaka, Yoshida and Muramatsu were the first one to arrive there. Chiba's attempt to knock him out by using the tranquilizing bullets failed. Karma saw his classmates' attacks ending without success. He had to help them. The redhead quickly got up a tree and attacked the soldier from above. He felt a kick in his stomach and flew a few meters back but was able to get up again. Many students had arrived at the hill and tried to knock out the soldier. Nothing worked until Nagisa hit him and Karma floored their opponent. Surprised about that their attack worked, the two boys high-fived before they blustery embraced. Karma felt his classmates' stares on him, but he didn't care at all.

Arriving at the glade around the building the class spotted Koro-sensei. They told him to come with them an escape, but the octopus informed them about that an end was unavoidable. The students were broken-hearted. Yada was the first one to speak her mind: "So everything was in vain?" Koro-sensei answered: "No, it wasn't. To find out about the possibilities to save me, you even travelled to space. Also this adventure brought you all back together. And after that we all ad a lot of fun." His motivational speech got interrupted by Terasaka: "I don't care if we don't have much time. The risk is too small that it gets ignored. Why don't they listen to us?" "The modern society will ignore you many more times, but you can't decline it.", spoke Koro-sensei, "That would simply be a waste of time. I told you how to live with that. Don't lose your head trying to resist. Attack surprisingly. Use unusual weapons. All of you are great assassins and able to do that." Nagisa was confused by how calm his teacher remained. But he stuck to the other part of the plan and tried to catch Nakamura's attention. She noticed the signal and stepped forward. "Also we wanted to give you something, Koro-sensei", she said as she handed him a small package. "We wanted to celebrate your birthday." The octopus opened his present and found a small cake. He stared at it, listening to his students singing. Karma grinned at Nagisa, laughing about his teacher's reactions. The octopus was just about to blow out the candle as a black tentacle destroyed the cake. It disappeared again behind a bush. Suddenly Shiro appeared, accompanied by another person dressed all in black. He turned out to be the god of death. Apparently he also got tentacles. He was bigger than Koro-sensei and his deep black tentacles moved very fast. The students as well as the octopus shrugged back. Nagisa grabbed Karma's hand. The god of death attacked, and the compression wave made the students tremble. Nagisa got thrown onto the ground. His arm reached out of Karma who wasn't moving. "That was a sonic boom", mentioned Shiro with an evil grin. Most of the students watched Koro-sensei's fight against the god of death. Meanwhile Nagisa was sitting on the ground, holding Karma. The redhead got knocked out as he hit the ground. Nagisa held his face, oppressing his tears. In the moment he felt so useless and helpless. He felt weak, and alone. Kayano shouted at Shiro: "so that's what you do, always just using others!" He answered: "You really think so?", pulling out an injection gun. He placed it on his neck and pulled the trigger. Suddenly tentacles grew from his shoulders, and he also attacked Koro-sensei. One of Nagisa's tears fell onto Karma' cheeks. "Wake up, Karma, please", Nagisa whispered in his ear, "please. I need you."


	45. as fas as I can go

Episode 45: as far as I can go

 _You didn't look out below_

 _Watch the time go right out the window_

 _Tryin' to hold on, they didn't even know_

 _I wasted it all just to watch you go_

 _I kept everything inside_

 _And even though I tried, it all fell apart_

 _What it meant to me will eventually be a memory_

 _Of a time when I tried so hard_

Watching the fight between Koro-sensei and the god of death, supported by Shiro, was nearly impossible. All of them were moving too fast to be clearly recognized. Most of the students tried to watch them while protecting themselves from the strong wind the fight caused. Nagisa was sitting on the ground with his back turned to the battle, sheltering Karma. The redhead was still unconscious, and Nagisa's fear grew with every minute. He heard Koro-sensei's screams, and the shouts of his friends. Nagisa put his hands on Karma's cheeks and buried his face in his hair. The red strands tickled his skin. He had never felt so hopeless in his whole life. All the times his mother shouted at him, all his failed exams and every time he broke his own heart by pushing away his feelings were nothing compared to this very moment. His tears blurred his view. "Wake up, Karma", he whispered, "I beg you." Koro-sensei hit the ground and the noise overshadowed Nagisa's words: "I love you, Karma." Suddenly he felt an arm moving up his back. Nagisa opened his eyes, blinking away the tears. Karma's lips moved to a smile, and his hand stroked over Nagisa's face. The blue-haired boy pulled him into a hug, overwhelmed by his emotions. "I love you too, Nagisa", said Karma quietly before he let go of the other boy and stood up. Nagisa joined him. He put his arm around Karma's waist as they watched the fight.

 _I tried so hard and got so far_

 _But in the end, it doesn't even matter_

 _I had to fall to lose it all_

 _But in the end, it doesn't even matter_

Shiro's attacks weren't focused on Koro-sensei anymore, instead h attacked the students. The octopus protected them by using his own body as a shield. Shiro had found Koro-sensei's biggest weakness: his students. But his evil speech got interrupted by a bullet. Kayano was determined to protect their teacher, and tried to shoot Shiro, using an anti-tentacle bullet. But her attempt failed as she got hit by a tentacle. Nagisa was unable to do anything but watch as her blood flew through the air. He was forced to watch the body of his best friend hitting the ground. Her shirt had a hole in it and was covered with blood stains. Koro-sensei's shock got quickly replaced by anger as his skin turned deeply red. Shiro and the god of death were distracted, so the students were able to run away. Nagisa picked up Kayano and carried her. After a few meters he tumbled over a stone and fell. Immediately he got up again and tried to continue his way. He wasn't too weak to carry her, but he couldn't move fast. Karma turned around and took Kayano. He was even able to run, the weight of her body didn't influence his movement. As the class reached the forest, the students stopped and watched the octopus again. Apparently Koro-sensei wasn't changing like Shiro expected. Karma sat down and laid Kayano on the ground. Nagisa was standing behind him before he fell on his knees. He leant forwards and hugged Karma from behind, sobbing on his shoulder. Koro-sensei was able to throw Shiro against the shield of anti-tentacle matter and eliminated him. Then he turned to the god of death. Holding a knife with a tissue he attacked him and hit his chest. The god of death fell down and disappeared. Koro-sensei won. But no one was able to cheer. Karma got up again and brought Kayano on the glade. His classmates followed him. It was unbelievable, but Koro-sensei healed the green-haired girl. After he transplanted some of her cells and some of his own, he was able to make her heart beat again. Kayano coughed and opened her eyes. For the second time this evening, someone came back to Nagisa. He immediately embraced her. Kayano sat up and looked surprised. Kanzaki shoved Nagisa away and flung her arms around Kayano. Koro-sensei seemed confident about his work. Karma walked over to him and asked: "How did you do that?" "I collected her blood during the fight and saved it", answered the octopus, "and I also replaced the missing cells with my own. Over the time, they will get replaced by Kayano's again." He sighted. "I should have focused on healing more than on fighting. I could have been able to save her sister as well." Karma stared at the ground. Losing Aguri had left an empty space in the E-class. She had always helped and supported him and believed in Karma's talent. The redhead looked up again and said: "She would eb so proud of you, Koro-sensei". The octopus smiled at him. Then Karma walked back to Kayano. "I'm glad we have you back, Kayano-chan", he spoke. Kayano grinned, then she embraced the redhead. "It's great to be back", she mentioned, then she added quietly: "Take care of Nagisa, will you?" Karma stared at her. He had no idea that she knew about it, but he nodded. He felt bad for her and hoped that she would find someone else one day. He looked over to Nagisa who was chatting with Sugino. For a second he felt like the world was okay again. But then he heard a noise of something heavy hitting the ground. Karma turned around and saw Koro-sensei fainting. All of the sudden everything came back: their mission, the attempts to save him and this evening. The laser up in the sky remined all of them that there was nothing they could do. It was time for Koro-sensei to die.


	46. the lightness in the air

Episode 46: the lightness in the air

 _I want you to be alive_

 _I want you to be alive_

 _You don't gotta die today_

 _You don't gotta die_

 _I want you to be alive_

 _I want you to be alive_

 _You don't gotta die_

 _Now lemme tell you why_

The students were standing in a circle around their teacher. The octopus looked exhausted but confident. He stared up to the destructed moon as he said: "Listen up. An assassin doesn't stop his mission because his target is already dying." The class was shocked but not surprised. They all knew since the beginning that it would come to this. Everyone had just ignored it lately. Karma stared at the ground. He was slowly realizing that there was no other option. If none of them killed Koro-sensei, so would the laser. The redhead looked on his phone. It was half past eleven. Isogai was the first one to speak his mind: "Listen. We should finish it now". His classmates gathered around him. "Who doesn't want to kill Koro-sensei?", he asked. Everyone raised their hands. "Alright. And who wants to kill him?", Isogai added. No one moved. A lot of students had tears running down their cheeks. Even Karma had to bite his lip to prevent the tears from falling. Nagisa raised his hand, as well did Kayano. The other students followed. Everyone got down and hold a tentacle. That was what they owed their teacher. Pressing him on the ground, no one said a word until Kataoka asked: "Who is going to do it?" After a few moments of silence Nagisa's voice filled the air: "Let me do it." He got up and pulled out a knife. No one said something against it. Karma caught Nagisa's view and managed to smile. He wanted him to know that he supported him. He was sure that the fact that Nagisa killed someone wouldn't influence his feelings for him. The blue-haired boy stepped over and kneeled down beside Koro-sensei. "Nagisa-kun, let me check the attendance list one more time", the octopus said. While he was reading through the names, Nagisa glanced over to Karma. Without Koro-sensei. He probably would have never met him again. The past year did influence every one of the students so much. It was really hard to let go.

 _Pain don't hurt the same, I know_

 _The lane I travel feels alone_

 _But I'm moving 'til my legs give out_

 _And I see my tears melt in the snow_

 _But I don't wanna cry_

 _I don't wanna cry anymore_

 _I wanna feel alive_

 _I don't even wanna die anymore_

Nagisa placed the knife over Koro-sensei's chest. His hands were shaking, and the knife was scratching over the teacher's tie. He was unable to stab him. Nagisa started crying again. He raised the knife, his face grimaced in anger over the whole situation. Koro-sensei interrupted him: "Not like that, Nagisa-kun. Smile". The blue-haired boy took a deep breath and calmed down. He thought about the time he and Karma traveled to Hawaii with Koro-sensei, the day he talked to him about becoming a teacher and the evening he talked to his mother. It was hard to stop crying. Karma moved a little towards Nagisa, still holding down the tentacle. He placed his hand on the other boy's shoulder for a few seconds, hoping he could somehow absorb all his sadness and desperation. Nagisa took one last deep breath, and with a smile on his face he spoke: "Goodbye, Koro-sensei." Then the knife pierced through the tie. The octopus' body disappeared in light. Nagisa stared sobbing. He couldn't help but break down. He noticed Karma's hand on his shoulder and turned around to embrace the redhead. His body was shaking. Karma was crying too. He held Nagisa's head leaning against his chest and watched the light fading.

After the light was gone, the students started returning to their classroom and the school building, trying to find something that was left. Karma waited for Nagisa who was the last one remaining at the glade, still crying. His sobbing calmed down, but the tears continued falling on his cheeks. Karma took Nagisa's arm and helped him to get up. "It's okay, Nagisa", he spoke, "everything is alright." Nagisa looked at him, trying to smile. "I- I know", he stated with a trembling noise. Karma lent forward, his forehead touched Nagisa's. "He's proud of you", Karma whispered. Nagisa managed to stop crying. "He's proud of all of us", he said. They heard Isogai's shout to join him and entered the building. Every student found a year book and a personal guide book from Koro-sensei. Karma sat down at his desk and opened the yearbook at a random page. He found a picture of the whole class in front of the building. It filled both pages and the surroundings showed that it was taken in spring. Karma's fingers sidled over the photograph. Koro-sensei's smile looked so pure. The faces of his classmates also showed happiness. He focused on the part of the picture showing himself. He was standing beside Nagisa and had an arm laid around the blue-haired boy. Both of them were grinning to the camera. Karma smiled, and felt his eyelids closing.

The next morning, Karma woke up to the sound of Nagisa's voice. The smaller teen was standing beside his desk, quietly trying to wake him. Karma sat up and looked around. His other classmates were still asleep. Outside the sun was rising. Karma stood up and left the classroom with Nagisa. He didn't want to wake his friends by talking loudly around them. "Karasuma-sensei was here", Nagisa informed him, "he stands in charge with the government. He said that we can take our time. Around noon he would bring us back to our families." Karma blinked a few times, trying to get rid of his tiredness. "What are you going to tell your mother?", he asked. "I guess the truth. At least partly", Nagisa answered, "It won't stay a secret for long anyway." Karma yawned. "I'm already excited for the closing ceremony tomorrow", he mentioned, "let's see what's expecting us."


	47. I'm still into you

Episode 47: I'm still into you

 _Some things just, some things just make sense_

 _And one of those is you and I_

 _Some things just, some things just make sense_

 _And even after all this time_

The closing ceremony was unusually interesting. This time, the E-class wasn't separated from the rest of the students. Apart from Karma's parents, every student's family came to celebrate their children's work. Nagisa was glad that both his mother and father came. He felt pity for Karma, but the redhead told him that he was okay with his parents not being there. Getting his final certificate, Nagisa felt really proud. He knew that without Koro-sensei, he wouldn't have been able to archive his goals. Now that the school was over, he was looking forward to his holiday. He already made plans with Sugino and Kayano, and of course with Karma.

After the ceremony, Nagisa met his parents in the lobby. He was surprised to see his parents standing together and talking to one another. As his father revealed that he and Nagisa's mother were a couple again, Nagisa couldn't help but let a tear run down his face. Living with his father was a lot easier than only with his mother, since he was good in calming her down. Nagisa's smile widened. He was happy about his family being complete again, but something was still missing. "Excuse me for a second, please", he spoke, "but I want you to meet someone." Then he left them in surprise and started looking for Karma. He found the redhead around a corner staring at his phone. As he spotted Nagisa, Karma immediately put away his phone. "Hey Nagisa", he greeted him, "I just texted my parents that they didn't really miss a thing today. What's up?" Nagisa felt his cheeks heating up a bit, yet he grabbed Karma's left hand and pulled him through the crowded lobby. Karma seemed confused but followed him anyway. The blue-haired boy found his parents again, and stopped in front of them, unaware of that he was still holding Karma's hand. "Mother, father, this is Karma. Mother, you remember him?", Nagisa asked a little out of breath. He stared at them, trying to read their facial expressions. His mother was the first one to speak: "Sure, I remember Karma. Congratulations on your closure", she simply said with a small smile. Then Nagisa's father stated: "It's nice to meet Nagisa's…" he stared at their hands for a second before he continued: "boyfriend?" Before Nagisa was able to let go of Karma's hand and start explaining, Karma put forth his hand and said: "Nice to meet you, Sir". He shook his father's hand while still holding on to Nagisa's, grinning at him.

 _It's not a walk in the park_

 _To love each other_

 _But when our fingers interlock_

 _Can't deny, can't deny you're worth it_

 _Cause after all this time, I'm still into you_

After the ceremony, the students got brought to a bus to be protected from the reporters. A lot of journalists wanted to know their statements on the octopus case, but no one was in the mood to talk. Even the a-class helped them to get on the bus without interruption. Karma was the last one to enter the bus. Asano chatted with him about the following years, because Karma was the one E-class student to continue visiting the Kunogigaoka. With a mischievous grin on his lips, Karma said goodbye to Asano and got on the bus. He fell on the seat beside Nagisa. The blue-haired boy obviously was a little overwhelmed by his feelings that day. A single tear ran down his cheek. Karma kissed it away. "It was great meeting your parents today", he spoke softly. Nagisa blushed a little. "I just felt like introducing you", he said, "I hope it didn't make you feel uncomfortable. I didn't tell them that you're my boyfriend, my dad just assumed it, I totally understand if you-" Karma's laugh interrupted him. "Don't worry, Nagisa", he stated, "I don't mind it. Actually, I like it. Boyfriend. Sounds great, doesn't it?" Nagisa looked like he wasn't getting it, so Karma rephrased his words. "What I was trying to say is…are you- or, do you wanna be my boyfriend?" Nagisa placed his head on Karma's shoulder. "I'd love to", he responded. Karma smiled as he laid his head on Nagisa's.

A week after the ceremony, the students met again to discuss their reward. They decided to keep a part of the money foe each of them to pay for their further education and an apartment. Also some money was donated, and the class bought one last thing together: the E-class building on the hill. The rest of the money got returned.

Thank you very much for reading my fic and leaving all these nice reviews and comments. Writing a story is always something great but knowing that it is being read and appreciated by others makes it even more amazing. I apologize for spelling and grammar mistakes, and I hope that they didn't disturb you too much. As some of you may have realized, I deleted the last chapters added, yet I have the explanation for it in my bio so look that up if you're interested. To conclude, this story is in my opinion better left finished like this, however I do have plans about writing a sequel.

Songs which lyrics I used:

1 Logic- 1800 2 Raleigh Richie – stronger than ever 3 Foster the people – sit next to me 4 The neighborhood – sadderdaze 5 Cage the elephant – shake me down 6 Maya Payne – if only 7 Marshmello – silence 8 Jaymes Young – Parachute 9 Roar – I can't handle change 10 Coldplay – talk 11 Illenium – fractures 12 Lauren Aquilina – fools 13 Eden – crash 14 the paper kites – bloom 15 Troye sivan – fools 16 Tender – oracle 17 – can't sleep 18 Fall out boy – the kids aren't alright 19 Lykke Li – no rest for the wicked 20 Chaos Chaos – do you feel it 21 Snow Patrol – the lighting strike 22 the Eden project – circles 23 two door cinema club – what you know 24 the submarines – 1940 25 Delta spirit – people c'mon 26 Tender – outside 27 The neighborhood – compass 28 Rachel Platton – collide 29 Jhene aiko – vapors 30 Gap dream – love is not allowed 31 Halsey – I walk the line 32 Oh wonder – shark 33 The neighborhood – cry baby 34 the neighborhood – the beach 35 Slaks – playing with my heart 36 Atlas – eulogy 37 Arctic monkeys – do I wanna know 38 Yuna – lullabies 39 Atlas – defeated 40 Coldplay – the scientist 41 Ed Sheeran – all of the stars 42 James Hersey – coming over 43 Cigarettes after sex – apocalypse 44 Kodaline – big bad world 45 Linkin Park – in the end 46 Logic – 1800 47 Paramore – still into you


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